Larry King headed for eighth divorce
The search for No. 8 is on. Larry King is divorcing his seventh wife, Shawn Southwick King, to whom the talk-show host has been married for 22 years.
It’ll be King’s eighth divorce overall: He twice married — and twice divorced — Alene Akins in the 1960s.
Southwick King, according to People, had been wed three times before marrying King.
King, 85, and Southwick King, 59, appeared to be headed for divorce in 2010. Both filed paperwork, but they eventually reconciled. The latest rift, according to TMZ, began during King’s health scare in April, when he reportedly went into cardiac arrest and suffered a heart attack.
While in the hospital, Southwick King presented him with legal documents that would affect the inheritance of their two adult sons and give her certain rights to their property, sources told TMZ. Their sons — Chance, 20, and Cannon, 19 — were said to be upset with their mother’s actions and urged their father to end the marriage.
The couple have been separated since June, according to the Blast, and King filed for divorce Tuesday. Their union also began during a hospital stay for King. In 1987, they were married in his hospital room as King was about to undergo surgery to clear a clogged blood vessel in his heart, according to the Blast.
The marriage had its problems, and there had been rumors of infidelity. “It’s true, and Larry is completely embarrassed and anguished by all of this,” a source had previously told People. “He doesn’t know what to do.”
But the couple denied the rumors during a joint 2016 interview with Home & Family, according to People. “You said an interesting word, ‘rumor.’ I’ve been in the business — next May, it’ll be 60 years — and I’ve dealt with rumors a long time,” King said during the interview.
“Interviewed people involved with rumors. Rumors are what they are — they’re rumors. And I tell you the truth, I don’t pay any attention to them.” Southwick King said. “Last week, there was a rumor going around about Larry and a speech he made in Kiev. This week, I’m the latest pinup girl. You just have to develop a shell around yourself and not get hard on the inside, and stick together.”