William Bumpus is an American attorney and former assistant attorney general best known as the former husband of television journalist and author Gayle King. A legal professional by career, Bumpus has spent decades working in the field of law rather than the entertainment industry. Although he became widely known through his marriage to Gayle King, he has largely maintained a private life, keeping his professional career separate from the media attention surrounding his former spouse.
William Bumpus and Gayle King married in 1982 and had two children, Kirby Bumpus and William Bumpus Jr., before divorcing in 1993. Despite the public interest generated by their relationship and separation, Bumpus has continued to focus on his legal career while avoiding the spotlight. He has rarely given public interviews or maintained a significant media presence, making him known primarily for his work as an attorney and his connection to one of America’s most recognizable television journalists.
Bio Table
| Name | William Bumpus (also referenced as William Bumpus Sr.) |
| Best Known As | First husband of CBS Mornings anchor Gayle King; family law attorney |
| Profession | Attorney, Partner at Wolf and Shore Law Group verified |
| Education | J.D., Yale Law School (1988); B.S. Marketing, Central Connecticut State University (1984) verified |
| Married Gayle King | 1982 |
| Divorced | 1993 |
| Children | Kirby Bumpus and William Bumpus Jr. |
| 2026 News Cycle | Publicly apologized for past infidelity after Gayle King discussed it on “Call Her Daddy” |
| Net Worth | No reliable figure available |
Who Is William Bumpus?
Here’s what makes this story interesting: William Bumpus spent over three decades quietly building one of the more accomplished legal careers you’ll find attached to a celebrity ex-spouse Yale Law School, a stint as a prosecutor, years teaching business ethics at the college level. Then, in May 2026, a podcast episode turned him into a headline again, nearly forty years after the fact.
Bumpus was married to Gayle King, now one of American television’s most recognizable faces, from 1982 to 1993. Their marriage ended after King discovered his infidelity a story she’s referenced before, but one that resurfaced with fresh detail when she told it on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast. Bumpus responded publicly within the same news cycle, issuing an apology through TMZ.
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Personal Life
Bumpus has largely kept his post-divorce personal life out of the press, aside from occasional appearances at family milestones alongside Gayle King and their adult children. In his May 2026 statement, he mentioned currently raising a young family member named Poet as a single father a detail he shared himself, though this article won’t speculate further on the circumstances beyond what he stated publicly.
Early Life and Family Background
Detailed public information about William Bumpus’s early childhood, parents, or upbringing hasn’t been widely reported, and this article isn’t going to guess at what hasn’t been documented. What is confirmed is the trajectory of his adult life: a Connecticut-rooted academic and legal career that started with an undergraduate degree and eventually led to one of the country’s most prestigious law schools.
Education
Bumpus earned a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Central Connecticut State University in 1984, graduating Magna Cum Laude, according to his own professional biography published through a Connecticut law firm’s website. He went on to earn his Juris Doctor from Yale Law School in 1988 a detail he referenced himself in his 2026 public statement, crediting Gayle King’s support during that stretch of his life.
Career Growth and Achievements
After Yale, Bumpus moved into prosecutorial work, serving as an Assistant State’s Attorney in Hartford, where he handled criminal prosecutions, and later as an Assistant Attorney General within Connecticut’s Child Protection Unit. His career then branched into academia: he’s held roles as an Adjunct Professor and Associate Dean at Central Connecticut State University, where he built advising and orientation programs, and as an Associate Professor teaching management, ethics, and business law. He also worked as a Faculty Consultant at Charter Oak State College.
On the legal side, Bumpus later served Of Counsel at the Law Firm of Lyle, Hume & Ngobeni before landing where he remains today: a Partner at Wolf and Shore Law Group, focused on family law. His current specialties include serving as a Guardian ad Litem in child protection and family law cases, and handling collaborative divorce work a mediation-based, non-adversarial approach to legally ending a marriage.There’s a quiet irony in that specialization. The man once at the center of a painful, contested divorce narrative has spent much of his later career helping other families separate with less conflict, not more.
Challenges or Controversies
The defining controversy of William Bumpus’s public life remains his infidelity during his marriage to Gayle King, which resurfaced dramatically in the news cycle nearly four decades later. What’s notable is how he handled the renewed attention: rather than staying silent or disputing King’s account, he issued a direct, on-the-record apology the same day her story went public, explicitly acknowledging that she had every right to share her own experience.
Relationships and Marriage
William Bumpus and Gayle King married in 1982. According to King’s own account, shared publicly on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast, their marriage ended after she returned home earlier than expected from a canceled trip and discovered Bumpus had been unfaithful with a close friend of hers. King has said she initially tried to reconcile with Bumpus after the discovery before ultimately deciding, in her words, that he hadn’t truly changed. The couple’s divorce was finalized in 1993.
{important} Handled With Care The infidelity itself is well documented and confirmed by both parties. This article deliberately does not repeat every graphic detail King shared on the podcast, since doing so adds little informational value beyond what’s already established: the affair happened, it ended the marriage, and both Bumpus and King have now spoken about it on the record.
On May 27, 2026 the same day King’s podcast episode aired Bumpus issued a written apology through TMZ. He took direct responsibility, noting he had “long owned” his actions, including in public comments he made back in 2016. He also expressed gratitude toward King for her role in his life, crediting her support during his years at Yale Law School and their shared commitment to co-parenting their children afterward.
Children
William Bumpus and Gayle King have two children together: daughter Kirby Bumpus, who is married to Virgil, and son William Bumpus Jr. (“Will”), who is married to Elise. Between them, Bumpus and King reportedly now have three grandchildren, based on Bumpus’s own May 2026 statement.
Social Media and Public Image
Bumpus keeps a low public profile online, without the kind of active personal brand you’d expect from someone connected to a major television personality. His public image, for most of the past thirty years, has largely been shaped by his professional legal biography rather than anything tied to his marriage to King at least until the 2026 news cycle briefly changed that.
Interesting Facts
- Before he was a lawyer, William Bumpus was a police officer in Kansas City, Missouri a detail that rarely makes it into coverage focused on his marriage to Gayle King.
- His son shares his exact name William Bumpus Jr. is frequently photographed alongside Gayle King at red carpet and media events, which occasionally causes confusion between father and son online.
- One detail that surprises many readers: Bumpus now practices the kind of low-conflict, collaborative divorce law that stands in quiet contrast to the very public, contested nature of his own marital story decades ago.
- His 2026 apology wasn’t his first public acknowledgment of the affair he referenced having already addressed it publicly back in 2016.
Net Worth and Lifestyle
No independently verified net worth figure exists for William Bumpus. Given his multi-decade legal career and law firm partnership, he’s likely financially comfortable, but this article isn’t going to attach a specific, unsupported dollar figure to that assumption.
Legacy or Current Life
As of mid-2026, William Bumpus continues practicing family law as a partner at Wolf and Shore Law Group in Connecticut. Despite the renewed media attention surrounding his decades-old affair, his professional standing as an attorney appears unaffected, and his public statement suggests he remains actively engaged with his children, grandchildren, and current family responsibilities.
FAQs
1. Who is William Bumpus?
He is a Connecticut family law attorney and the first husband of CBS Mornings anchor Gayle King.
2. When were William Bumpus and Gayle King married?
They married in 1982 and divorced in 1993.
3. Why did William Bumpus and Gayle King divorce?
According to Gayle King’s own account, the marriage ended after she discovered Bumpus had been unfaithful with a close friend of hers.
4. Did William Bumpus apologize publicly?
Yes. On May 27, 2026, he issued a written apology through TMZ, taking responsibility for his past actions.
5. What does William Bumpus do for a living?
He is a family law attorney and partner at Wolf and Shore Law Group in Connecticut.
Final Words
William Bumpus is best known for his successful legal career and his past marriage to television journalist Gayle King. While public interest in his personal life has remained strong over the years, he has continued to focus on his work as an attorney and has largely stayed out of the media spotlight. His story reflects a life centered on law, family, and professional dedication rather than public attention.
Today, William Bumpus remains respected for his contributions to the legal profession and his commitment to maintaining a private life. Although his connection to Gayle King introduced him to a wider audience, his lasting legacy is defined by his decades of experience in law and his continued dedication to serving clients and supporting his family.
