All the things you need to know about Gary Owen’s divorce: Gary Owen an American comedian has spoken openly about his separation from his family. During an appearance on The Breakfast Club podcast on August 23 the 48-year-old celebrity confessed that he hasn’t spoken to his children in a year due to his divorce from his estranged wife Kenya Duke.
The comic continued:
“I’ve taken every precaution. My daughter attends A&T so I went to Greensborough to see her. She didn’t open the door when I knocked. At the airport, I attempted to reach her. I was banned from social media. I’ve tried every possible channel to reach my daughter. I am halted when I extend my palm.
Furthermore, Owen stated that his children learned about his divorce from news sources and social media rather than their parents:
“We kept it hidden from the kids. We planned to wait and do it together but they found out via Paparazzi.
After a year Owen has decided to come out about the incident so that his children can hear his side of the story. On the show he stated:
“Everyone kept pushing me to express my point of view. To be honest it’s yet another attempt to get my kids to hear it.
Kenya Duke and Gary Owen married in 2003. They have three children together: Emilio Kennedy and Austin. Their eldest child Duke and Emilo Toliver Senior’s biological son Emilio is 31 years old. Kennedy and Austin Owen and Duke’s biological offspring are now 21 and 20 respectively.
Following 18 years of marriage Duke petitioned for divorce in March 2021 in California’s Los Angeles County Superior Court citing irreconcilable differences.
In June of that year, People Magazine reported that Duke had asked Owen for $44000 per month in spousal support after leaving her “promising job as an account manager” for the comedian.
“I am asking that Gary be ordered to continue making monthly installments of $44000 because that has been our arrangement for approximately four years as well as a lump sum payment of $88000 because he has failed to provide me with money for the past two months” the letter states.
At the time, Duke made the following further claims:
The podcaster and businesswoman on the other hand did not hold back from revealing the specifics of her wedding on social media. Gary Owen withheld money from the family and had adulterous relationships while they were married Duke claimed in a since-deleted Instagram post.
According to Hot New Whip Whop Kenya Duke who allegedly paid the mortgage tagged the comedian in a lengthy post that she released and urged him to “stop lying about paying the mortgage.”
She added further:
“Those people you mention who live here don’t. We only have one problem: a liar and narcissist who is no longer a resident of the home. I’m doing my thing over there. You’re not troubled by us in vain. You’ve gone too far. You are the 48-year-old version of the parent you chastise on stage for mistreating you when he was in his twenties.
Gary Owen addressed Kenya’s allegations during an interview on the Wendy Williams Show in June 2021. He claimed that his attorney had told him not to comment at the time but his divorce from Duke appears to have taken a “major twist.”
“It’s a big one but I can’t speak about it just yet. It changed the overall dynamic of the divorce.
During the same interview, Gary Owen addressed media claims that he hasn’t seen his children saying they are all adults and that it’s “not uncommon when you have grown kids to not see them for a couple of months.” He further clarified the issue by saying:
“My daughter was in college when the news first emerged. She has worked and will remain in Kenya. I’m on the road. We’re talking and messaging.
Gary Owen also stated that he is not a “deadbeat father” as Kenya Duke called him after accusing him of infidelity.