Comedian Gary Owen’s Wife Files for Divorce

Gary Owen’s wife, Kenya Duke, has filed for divorce from the comedian after nearly 20 years of marriage. Duke filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday, though the reasons for the split has not been revealed.

Owen is best known for his break on Comic View according to The Grio (via Yahoo News) and has appeared in films like Daddy Day Care, Think Like a Man and Ride Along. The couple also appeared on The Gary Owen Show in 2016 on BET, speaking with The Grio about their marriage at the time and the first time they met.

“I was like, ‘Look, I know I’m supposed to wait three days, but you’re gonna meet a lot of dudes in three days. I’m just letting you know now — I’m interested,’” Owen said to the outlet about how the couple met. He also detailed the view as the first white man Duke had a relationship with. “That to me is a bigger honor than having a show on BET! The fact that my game was so strong, that I was able to pull this beautiful Black lady.”

Fans of the couple went to the couple’s last Instagram posts to share their wishes and sadness over the news. “Noooooo I hope the rumor is not true,” one fan wrote. “We’re always on the outside looking in. Pray that whatever you and Gary are going through can be healed. Regardless, I wish you both the best. As relationship coach, I don’t encourage divorce, but I encourage happiness,” another added.

Others were hopeful that the news wasn’t true, sharing how much the couple is beloved by their fans. “Please say it’s not true, I love you guys together, please reconsider,” a fan wrote. “Prayers for you and the family. Hope y’all can work it out,” another added.

Owen and Duke made headlines recently due to an incident with Delta airlines that the comedian claimed was racial profiling. “My wife gets in line, and the guy working the gate at B21, Cincinnati Airport, asks my wife, ‘Oh, are you in first?’ And my wife said, ‘Yeah, I am.’ And then my wife said, ‘Are you not gonna ask the guy behind me?’ And he goes, ‘No.’ My wife said, ‘Why?’ He said, ‘Cause I don’t feel like it,” Owen recounted according to The Grio. “The guy behind her’s a white dude, and the ticket agent was a white dude. But he asked the Black lady, ‘Are you in first?’”