'It stays with you forever,' said Berry, who experienced infidelity in her marriage to now ex-husband Eric Benét
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NEED TO KNOW
- Halle Berry praised Gayle King for sharing her story about discovering her ex-husband’s infidelity with a friend
- Berry, who had a similar experience in the early 2000s, noted the betrayal of cheating “stays with you forever”
- King shared explicit details about her ex-husband William Bumpus cheating on her on Alex Cooper’s Call Her Daddy podcast on May 27
Halle Berry is commending Gayle King for sharing her story about her ex-husband's infidelity.
On May 27, King appeared on the Call Her Daddy podcast and opened up about the moment she discovered her now-ex-husband, William Bumpus, was cheating on her with one of her friends. Days later on May 29, during an appearance on Jenna and Sheinelle, Berry — who faced a similar cheating scandal with her then-husband Eric Benét nearly 20 years ago — applauded King for her bravery and candor.
"I'm proud of her for, you know, saying that and sharing this, that happened," Berry said, "because it has happened to many of us."
Berry was married to Benét, a musician, from 2001 to 2005, and Benét later admitted he had been unfaithful during that time. In 2002, he checked into a 35-day sex addict rehab program, though both he and Berry have cast doubt on him actually being addicted to sex.
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On Jenna and Sheinelle, Berry said she didn't speak out about her ex-husband's infidelity at the time, as there were children involved, but she was able to talk with friends to help her move through that difficult moment. Speaking about her experience and getting it off her chest, she said, was "very, very helpful."
"You remember every detail of the whole situation, and it stays with you forever," Berry said. "So when you can share it somehow, that's therapeutic."
"It's a catharsis, when you can really share it and someone else can say what their experience has been," Berry continued. "So I appreciate her."
On Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast, King detailed the shocking experience of discovering her now-ex-husband Bumpus was cheating on her. King had intended to bring their two young children on a flight, but when it was canceled, she and the kids turned around and went home. There, she discovered Bumpus was inside the house with the house alarm set.
“He comes flying out of the room. He's got a towel on and he goes, ‘You can't come in,' ” King recalled, saying her reaction was, “What do you mean I can't come in? What are you talking about?”
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When he admitted there was someone else in the house, King started searching — and found her friend at the time, "cowering behind the door in my towel."
After King's Call Her Daddy appearance, Bumpus issued a public apology for his previous infidelity. Sharing a statement with TMZ and Page Six, the attorney expressed remorse to King, their kids and their respective spouses, and his grandchildren by them "for the pain I caused decades ago."
"Gayle has every right to share what was a painful chapter that changed the trajectory of our marriage and our family nearly 40 years ago," Bumpus said. "I respect her right to tell her story, and that's where I'll leave it."
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