Gayle King's ex issues statement apologising for cheating scandal

Gayle King's ex-husband William Bumpus has publicly apologised for cheating on her nearly 40 years ago.

Bumpus, who was married to the TV news star from 1982 to 1993, spoke out after King opened up to Alex Cooper on Wednesday's Call Her Daddy podcast episode about catching her ex cheating with one of her best friends in 1990.

"My deepest apologies to Gayle for the pain I caused decades ago. Those actions were mine," Bumpus told TMZ in a statement released on 27 May.

King revealed that she returned home after a flight was cancelled, and her then-husband tried to stop her from coming into the house.

"I get down and there they are," she shared. "Or there she is cowering behind the door in my towel. It was a nice bath sheet."

King explained that she kept her composure throughout the confrontation to shield her young children from trauma.

"I was thinking, 'The kids are here, I don't want anybody to know,'" she remembered. "That was my main thought, 'I don't want anybody to know.' That would not happen to me today."

She continued, "I kept thinking, 'I don't want it to be a scene,' because they're little, they know this person. My main thing was, how do I handle this situation in this moment?"

The couple tried to repair their marriage in the aftermath of Bumpus' cheating, but ultimately divorced three years later.

"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 conceded. "I respect her right to tell her story, and that's where I'll leave it."