Divorce Stress Is Real: Gayle King’s Story Hits Hard

Divorce Stress Is Real: Gayle King’s Story Hits Hard 

Gayle at the Met Gala 2026

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In the list of life's most stressful events, divorce ranks second, right behind the death of a spouse. Now, everything that leads up to that can ramp up the stress meter. In Gayle King’s case, catching her husband cheating red-handed definitely ramped things up a bit. She recently shared during her appearance on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast that she got home and caught her husband fresh out of the shower with someone she thought was a friend. 

Not only was Gayle King dealing with the shock of this man, William Bumpus, cheating, but she also had to learn that it was with another person she had some level of trust. They had been married for 11 years and, eventually, they did end up getting a divorce. What got her through that ordeal was reaching out to friends and having people to lean on. Of course, she talked about immediately calling her BFF, Oprah Winfrey, which is what anyone in that situation would do. I am immediately phoning a friend because I may need someone to talk me down from doing something crazy that would only make matters worse. 
Divorce can cause a huge impact and the most important thing is that we don’t ignore the effects and seek support like Gayle did to help us through it. 

Mental Health America provides some practical tips to cope through seperation and divorce to help decrease stress in Coping with Separation and Divorce

Interestingly enough, these suggestions are what should already be in your toolbox. They are aligned with overall stress management. 
Suggestions like:
Allow yourself to have different feelings. It’s OK. 
Give yourself a break
Connect with your support network
Don’t let yourself go. Take care of yourself by remembering self-care
Explore your interests
Don’t (well, try not to) engage in power struggle arguments designed to get under your skin
Practice mindfulness
Talk to your children honestly if kids are involved
Maintain routine and stability, especially with your children, as much as you can

The other article from Psychology Today is How to Manage the Big Emotions of Divorce and Stay Calm
Another way to manage your stress is to learn to manage some of the emotions because you will have a lot of them. Losing someone in that way will also trigger grief stages because while they are not physically gone, the future you thought you would have with them is no longer and you will need to mourn that. 

The article goes through some of the emotions people may experience, like shock, guilt, grief, anger, fear, and anxiety, to name a few, and makes some suggestions to help progress through them. I will add that you have to go through them. Please do not run away or try to mask them by engaging in habits that cause you to ignore them. 

Other tips on what to do when dealing with these varied emotional ups and downs:
Stop, pause and breathe. 
Focus on basic healthy habits
Learn to forgive yourself
Learn to love yourself
See a professional for help or counsel
Engage in positive self-talk
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