Larry King is opening up about his divorce from his seventh wife, Shawn King, which he filed in August, three months after he suffered a stroke.
During an interview with People, the 86-year-old said the couple’s relationship had run its course, claiming “it just hit a point where we didn’t get along.”
He said several factors were to blame for the dissolution, pointing to the large age gap and difference in religious beliefs.
“We had a big age difference and that eventually takes its toll,” explained Larry, who is 26 years older than Shawn. “It became an issue. Also, [Shawn] is a very religious Mormon and I’m an agnostic atheist, so that eventually causes little problems.”
After the near fatal stroke, Larry said he was faced with some tough realizations.
“I thought a lot about what I wanted the rest of my life to be,” he divulged. “When there are moments of unhappiness in a marriage, you can overcome it at 40, but at my age, it became a lot. I wanted to be happy. Separating was of course difficult. But there is nothing worse than arguing.”
The couple had split briefly in 2010 amid infidelity rumors, but both parties denied the allegations.
“I never cheated on my wives,” explained Larry to People, “My career always came first. I used to say if CNN called with an emergency and my wife called with an emergency, I’d call CNN back first.”
From 1985 to 2010, Larry was the host of CNN’s “Larry King Live.” He currently hosts “Larry King Now” on Hulu.
Larry and Shawn, who was his seventh wife after eight divorces, share two children, sons Chance, 20, and Cannon, 19.
“I got married a lot,” he acknowledged to the publication. “But in my head, I’m not a marrying guy. When I grew up, nobody lived together. If you fell in love, you got married. And so I married the ones that I loved. But what I loved at 20 is not what I loved at 30 and what I loved at 30 is not what I loved at 40.”
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