On the May 27 episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast, King spilled more details about their relationship, including the infidelity that strained their marriage.
According to the broadcast journalist, she found out William was having an affair with one of her friends when she returned home with their children after a flight was canceled.
“He comes flying out of the room. He’s got a towel on, and he goes, ‘You can’t come in,'” she recalled.
King reportedly responded, “What do you mean I can’t come in? What are you talking about?”
While she initially dismissed William’s claim that “someone’s here,” she searched the house and found her former friend, who was also married, cowering behind the door in my towel.” She did not reveal the woman’s name, but she reportedly told her, “‘I can’t believe that you are here and that you are doing this.’ I even said, ‘I thought we were friends!'”
King and William went to counseling after the incident, but they still divorced.
Following the revelation, William apologized to King in a new statement.
“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,” he said, per Page Six. “Those actions were mine. Gayle has every right to share what was a painful chapter that changed the trajectory of our marriage and our family nearly forty years ago. I respect her right to tell her story, and that’s where I’ll leave it.”
In addition, William reflected positively on the family he and his ex-wife created together. He then praised King for supporting him while he attended Yale Law School and credited her for helping create a healthy and strong co-parenting relationship after their marriage ended.
The legal professional also acknowledged that adjusting to King’s growing fame was not easy because he prefers to stay out of the public eye. Even so, he spoke highly of his former wife, saying he is “a genuine admirer and fan” who has had a “front-row seat to Gayle’s remarkable success.”
“I continue to work at being the best version of myself, grounded by the friendship, encouragement, and support of Gayle over the years, by the love of our grown children and our grandchildren, and by the daily privilege of raising Poet as a single dad,” William continued.
Shortly after the apology statement was released, King told TMZ she was “surprised” because “he never talks.” Still, she said she “appreciated what [William] had to say.”
“I appreciate it, because listen, that was a very painful time,” she added. “Anybody that’s been through it knows how painful it is, but I also know that you can go through and get through it on the other side. This happened so long ago that we have both healed, we have both moved on, and the reason why I can talk about it so candidly, to be honest with you, is because it has been so much time that has passed.”
King told the outlet she is “in a really great place now” and “had not intended to talk about” the infidelity on the podcast.