Gary Owen, an American comedian, has said he is estranged from his relatives. In the podcast The Breakfast Club on August 23, the 48-year-old singer stated that he has not spoken to his children for a year because of his divorce from Kenya Duke.
The comedian continued:
“I have completed every task. I went to Greensborough because my daughter went to A&T, knocked on her door and she didn’t respond. I tried to meet her at the airport. I have been banned from social media. I have tried all available channels to contact my daughter. If I contact you, I will be blocked.”
Owen also said his children learned about his divorce from news sources and social media rather than from their parents:
“We have not informed the children. We were going to wait and do it together, but they found out through TMZ.”
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Owen has chosen to break his silence on the incident a year later so his kids can hear his side of the story. He said on the podcast:
“Everyone kept asking me to explain my side of the story. And to be honest, it’s an extra effort for my kids to hear it.”
Gary Owen’s wife filed for divorce in 2011.
Gary Owen and Kenya Duke were married in 2003. Emilio, Kennedy and Austin are their three children. Emilio, their oldest child, is the biological son of Duke and Emilio Toliver Senior. Owen and Duke’s biological children are Kennedy and Austin, aged 21 and 20, respectively. Duke filed for divorce in Los Angeles County Superior Court, California, in March 2021, after 18 years of marriage due to irreconcilable differences.
People magazine stated in June of that year that Duke had demanded $44,000 a month in spousal support from Owen after she left her “promising profession as an account manager” for the comedian.
Duke further claimed at the time, saying:
“I demand that Gary be ordered to continue paying the $44,000 monthly installments as that has been our status quo for nearly four (4) years” as well as a lump sum payment of $88,000 for the past two months which he has failed to deliver I with money.
The podcaster and businesswoman, on the other hand, didn’t hold back from spreading the beans about her marriage on social media. Duke accused Gary Owen of having adulterous relationships during their marriage and hiding money from the family in a now-deleted Instagram post. According to Hot New Whip Whop, Kenya Duke tagged the comedian in a lengthy post asking him to “stop lying about paying the mortgage,” which she allegedly paid.
She went on to say:
“Those squatters you’re talking about don’t live here. We only have one problem: a lying narcissist who no longer lives here. I’m doing my thing here. We won’t irritate you for nothing. You’re going too far. “At 48, you’re the father who so brutally criticizes you on stage, about how bad he was to you when he was in his twenties.”
Gary Owen, who appeared on the Wendy Williams Show in June 2021, also broke his silence on Kenya’s charges. He added that his lawyer had asked him not to speak at this time, but there appears to be a “major twist” in his divorce from Duke.
“It’s a doozy, but I can’t say anything about it right now — but it’s huge.” It changed the whole complexion of the divorce.”
Gary Owen also disputed media claims that he hasn’t met his children, noting that they are all adults and that “it’s very unusual when you have grown children not to see them for a few months.” He clarified the situation by saying:
“When the news broke, my daughter was in college.” She stays with Kenya and works. I’m on my way. We are texting and chatting.”
Gary Owen also said he is not a “deadbeat parent” as Kenya Duke called him after accusing him of adultery.
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