Larry King files for divorce from seventh wife Shawn after 22 years of marriage
Larry King has filed for divorce from his seventh wife, Shawn Southwick King, after 22 years of marriage, his lawyer confirms to Yahoo Entertainment. The legendary broadcaster filed papers in L.A. County court on Tuesday. The Kings share two sons: Chace, 20, and Cannon, 19.
Larry, 85, and Shawn, 59, have had a turbulent relationship in recent years. In 2010, the couple filed for divorce amid reports of infidelity; however, they quickly reconciled, calling off proceedings three months later. Then in 2016, it was widely reported Shawn, a former TV host, was having an affair.
"It’s true, and Larry is completely embarrassed and anguished by all of this," a source close to the situation told People of the alleged infidelity. "He doesn’t know what to do."
Page Six claimed her yearlong affair was with public-speaking guru Richard Greene. Larry and Shawn dismissed speculation at the time as "rumors."
It wasn't the first time Shawn was accused of infidelity. In 2010, baseball coach Hector Penate claimed to Entertainment Tonight that he had an affair with the former country singer in 2007, which she denied.
Larry was also accused of being unfaithful in their two-plus decades together. In 2010, it was reported Shawn and Larry's marriage fell apart because she believed the broadcaster cheated on her with her sister, Shannon. (Shannon called Shawn's allegation "ludicrous.")
The former Larry King Live host has been married eight times to seven women. (In 1968, Larry remarried ex-wife Alene Akins, five years after they divorced.) After a nine month courtship, Larry and Shawn wed in 1997 in a hospital room just before he underwent heart surgery to unblock a clogged artery. Larry has coped with heart disease for decades, most recently undergoing a procedure in April. According to TMZ, a family incident stemming from that health scare allegedly prompted the divorce.
TMZ cites sources who say Shawn presented Larry with legal documents in the hospital "that would have given her certain rights to their property that would adversely affect the couple's" sons. The boys purportedly felt she was trying to "screw them out of their inheritance," telling their father they were outraged by her conduct and begged him to get out of the marriage.
It isn't the first time the boys allegedly pleaded with their father to end the relationship. In 2017, Page Six reported Larry's family was encouraging him to pull the plug on the "miserable" marriage.
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