Comedian Gary Owen has opened up about his struggles in his family — as a husband, father, and son, revealing behind-the-scenes tea as a white comedian in the Black comedy scene.
One of the traumas that the “Think Like A Man” actor details is his estranged relationship with his biological father. While on “Club Shay Shay,” he described his dad as a racist who reached out to his Black ex-wife, Kenya Duke, only to feed her “dirt” about the funnyman during their highly publicized split.
After explaining that he was raised by his mother and his stepfather, whom he claimed was abusive, he said he was terrified to be the male figure in Duke’s home. Owen told the host Shannon Sharpe that he thought he might duplicate the behavior he saw as a kid.
Between his stepfather and his biological father, Owen felt stuck when thinking about his own manhood with those male role models. He said things went south for the last time with his father, who repeatedly let him down when he was a kid. After he became famous, his dad started to “come around a little more,” and the two got closer. But then, yet again, his father betrayed him in a way far greater than he had before.
Owen and Duke were married for nearly 18 years. Before either had been served with official divorce papers, the “Ride Along” star recalls flying to his home city in Cinncinati to go to a Reds game. He said he didn’t want to get seats in the stands because he didn’t want to be served publicly.
“I got a rep that works for the Reds. He got a suite for me, not my name. I pay for it,” he said.
Owen says he invited five to six friends, but not his father. His dad found out that they were at the ballpark and blasted his son in a voicemail and text message. Eventually, the two talked on the telephone and Owen says during the heated they both exchanged expletives and swearing to stay out of each other’s lives.
“He start[ed] calling my ex, that he wanted nothing to do with. … [He] been on my side during the divorce … start[ed] giving all his dirt on me,” the “Daddy Day Care” star said.
He continued, “He posted it on his Facebook page. Then he posted a picture of my ex-wife on the Facebook page and was like, ‘I got yo’ back to this divorce. You’ve always been like a daughter to me.’ He don’t even like Black people. He’s a Trumpa Stumpa. I ain’t saying he went to the Capitol, but he was at the monument. Now he wants to support a Black woman.”
Following their divorce, Owen and Duke have had minimal contact, meeting only a handful of times since their separation. The couple, who were together for 23 years and married for nearly 18, finalized their divorce in March 2021 in California.
Owen revealed that he initiated the divorce proceedings, filing in Ohio, while Duke filed in California, citing Owen’s infidelity, which he admitted to in the interview. “I ain’t got nothing to hide now,” he told Sharpe.
Their three children, Kennedy, Emilio, and Austin stopped all communication with Owen amid the tumultuous split. Duke alleges that a month after the filing, Owen stopped financially supporting them, publicly labeling him as a deadbeat father in a series of social media posts since their split.
The comic has not seen the children, who range between 16 and 22, in three years.
The now-podcaster shared on a recent episode of his “Get Some” YouTube show that he encountered Duke during a flight from Atlanta to Cincinnati. He mentioned his upcoming appearance on “Club Shay Shay,” prompting her to ask him not to do it. Owen revealed his intention to proceed but assured her that he would choose his words carefully.
“She didn’t see me when she got on the plane. We go to baggage claim and she sees me. She comes up, we start talking and that when I’m asking like how do we get this thing right with the kids? I keep telling her, ‘Look when they call I’m there,” he said, before telling Duke, “I wish you would just say ‘It’s time,’ because they do listen to you enough.”
So let me et this straight:
— Ray Raised me (@304TheRevTJ) May 1, 2024
Gary Owens was with his wife 23yrs.
Married for 18.
Got caught having an affair so she divorced him 3yrs ago.
His kids are so disappointed and hurt still that they don’t even talk to him.
Was the affair worth it? 🤔🧐
Owen shared that he has never physically or mentally abused his kids, adding that he gave them a “great childhood.”
“I don’t know how I became this evil human being that they want nothing to do with. Obviously, I’m not perfect,” he expressed. “It’s been so long that I have to sneak around to try and just lay eyes on ’em.”
The Gary Owen episode of “Club Shay Shay” debuted on Wednesday, May 8 on YouTube.
