MadameNoire
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Amidst their ongoing divorce, comedian Gary Owen’s estranged wife Kenya Duke is now reportedly asking for $44,000 a month in spousal support.
According to legal documents acquired by TMZ, Duke wants to receive $44,000 a month in spousal support from Owen — claiming the amount is what she’s used to receiving from the comedian in order “to pay credit cards and finance her personal spending.”
TMZ also noted that Duke claimed Owen essentially “left her with no choice but to request spousal support” since she had to leave “her promising career to support [Owen] and his dreams.” Their coverage additionally mentioned that Duke alleges their household’s “monthly income has been between $200,000 and $400,000 and never dipped below $100k, even during the pandemic,” — and that “it’s not uncommon for [Owen] to have $300,000 to $600,000 worth of uncashed checks from his stand-up shows just sitting around,” which he cashes in randomly and at his leisure.
If you recall, the couple was wed back in 2003. As per “The Gary Owen Show” — a reality TV series which aired on BET in 2016 — people got to know Owen, Duke, and their family (including their two children in addition to Duke’s son from a previous relationship) in a more personal way. Relatedly, in 2020, Owen and Duke featured as a celebrity couple on an episode of “Wife Swap” — where Duke switched families for a week with actor Michael Ealy’s wife Khatira.
While the details of why Duke filed for divorce in March of this year are still unclear, infidelity seemed to be a factor that caused their split. The day after their divorce was announced, she made a post that was later deleted which implied Owen had done some cheating. She also name-dropped Claudia Jordan. To see how the latter responded to Duke throwing her name into the mix, click here.
