Comedian Gary Owen is not telling the full story of why he no longer has a relationship with his adult children, according to his ex-wife, Kenya Duke.
The “Think Like a Man” actor recently shared his account on how he believes his messy divorce was a huge contributor to his estrangement from the former couple’s sons Emilio, 33, and Austin, 23, and daughter Kennedy, 21. To her displeasure, Owen shared his side of the tale when he appeared on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast.
Soon after the interview aired, Duke wrote that while she did not feel obligated to address his “mistruths,” her extending grace and kindness to him had backfired and created “space to tell lies and false narratives for sympathy and attention without correcting.”
Comments associated with her Instagram post were critical, with some accusing her of “dragging” the issue out publicly and preventing Owen from seeing their kids.
She responded to the hecklers days later in a lengthy comment, calling out people for being “mean and judgmental about a situation” they knew nothing about. “Gary knows exactly why his kids are not in contact with him. Not sure why he didn’t list a few,” she wrote about his interview.
Gary Owen: "I don't know where it got so bad."
— Nicholas Dickhead (@THEMikeBowers) May 10, 2024
Gary Owen one minute later: "…I just said I cheated."
Gary Owen 30 seconds after that: "I don't know how it became this evil human being, but they want nothing to do with."
pic.twitter.com/BZBmeyQFa8
The entrepreneur further corroborated the “Get Some” podcast host’s account of them speaking about the status of his relationship with their children before he taped the sit-down with Shannon Sharpe. She stated that infidelity and the divorce were not at the root of the fractured bond, and despite their marriage ending in divorce, she has tried to encourage her kids to reach out to their dad.
Duke explained, “I am not sure why any parent would be okay with people talking crazy about their kids when they created the issues or the mother that has try to help (maybe he doesn’t feel I have done enough) When all 3 of the kids aren’t in contact with a parent something that was traumatic to them happened.”
She continued, “No child is waking up to say I don’t want to have contact with a parent. I don’t think these interviews help the relationship but they do help the narrative a celebrity wants out there.”
Someone responding to her more recent remarks said, “If he do like Brian McKnight and walk away would anybody tear him down for that but he do have to understand their grown I just hope with him having other children now nobody says he treating them better especially when he said he was trying.”
Another user commented, “Tagging him in the post……. Is a testament of the lies you are NOT telling! Don’t explain yourself to these ppl.”
And a third stated, “But he didn’t blame you. That’s why this post is weird & getting so much attention. He said nothing negative about you & blamed himself that his relationship wasn’t more solid prior to the divorce.”
Owen and Duke divorced in 2021 after 18 years together. He has since moved on and welcomed a set of twin boys with his fiancée, Brianna Johnson, last year.
