Gayle King was once married to and has since been divorced from attorney William Bumpus.
The couple tied the knot in 1982 and split 11 years later, but in that time they welcomed their children, William Bumpus Jr., 39, and Kirby Bumpus, 40.
The demise of their marriage was caused by Bumpus’ infidelity, which she spilled all the details, prompting a swift apology.
While stranded in Washington, D.C. after a canceled flight, King rushed her 2- and 3-year-old children onto a new flight home — forgetting to notify her husband first.
On the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, King said, “We jumped in, got to the airport, got in the car, came home, and the alarm was set, which I thought, that’s strange because you’re in here by yourself. You’re a big a–, grown a– man. He never sets the alarm.”
That’s when things took a turn. Her husband suddenly rushed out wearing only a towel and warned her not to go into the room because someone else was inside.
Confused and suspicious, King searched the house herself and discovered her anonymous friend hiding in her bath towel.
Shocked by the betrayal, she recalled confronting the woman she thought was her friend and questioning how she could betray her.
“I came home and caught him unexpectedly because I wasn’t due home,” King explained.
“The therapist said it probably had to be that extreme for me to believe it, because if I had caught them and they weren’t buck naked — Alex in my freak’n towel — he might have said, “Oh, she was just over here … we were working on something.”
Out of envy, King said the friend told her, “He doesn’t even love you. He’s only with you for the children and the lifestyle.”
She called the nanny to keep the kids away, then threatened to tell the woman’s husband. Bumpus begged her not to and later drove the woman to the train station to keep the affair secret.
King admitted it was Oprah Winfrey who encouraged her to call the woman’s husband two hours later.
When he answered and King told him what happened, “He said, ‘She said that you came home early unexpected and you drew the wrong conclusion and she told me you would call and say that you thought they were having an affair.”
Noting that they were both psychologists, King remembered the man saying she was “delusional,” “out of touch with reality,” and suggested she get help.
That triggered anger from King, who said she replied, “OK, you think I should get some help? Does your wife have a pink satin pajama top? Does she have some green mint panties that go with that?’”
She also told him there were semen stains in the bed before saying “go f-ck yourself” and hanging up the phone.
YouTubers were shocked to hear the brutal details of King’s story and how it all unfolded. “This breaks my heart fr,” responded one person.
Many were more stunned that she reacted so calmly in the moment and kept her composure. “I’d be smiling in my mugshot. She’s strong,” another typed.
A third person said, “Gayle so calm I would of dragged her lol and him.”
That reaction came after viewers watched the uncomfortable dynamic play out in real time, with many saying the silence spoke louder than anything else.
“So true. When the mistress can disrespect you and your own husband doesn’t defend you and he allows it… OPRAH IS SPOT ON. THAT IN ITSELF IS TELLING OF WHAT ALL HE HAS SAID ABOUT YOU. IT ALSO SAYS WHO HE VALUES MOST,” noted a fourth person.
In light of his actions being presented in an inflattering like, Bumpus issued a long apology statement to Page Six.
“My deepest apologies to Gayle, to our daughter Kirby and her husband, Virgil, to our son William and his wife, Elise, and to our three grandchildren, for the pain I caused decades ago,” King’s ex stated.
Taking accountability, he said, “Those actions were mine,” adding that his ex-wife, “has every right to share what was a painful chapter that changed the trajectory of our marriage and our family nearly forty years ago.”
As for where they stand today, King saw him the week prior at their grandchild’s christening. According to her, “He ain’t looking so good” but he has a new girlfriend that King says is “lovely.”
King has not remarried or publicly dated anyone since that marriage ended.
