Larry King made headlines last year with the news he was filing for divorce from his wife of over 20 years, Shawn King.
Now the former CNN host has revealed what sparked the split: religion and a 26 year age gap.
"The age difference eventually takes its toll," he said in an interview with People. "Also my wife is a very religious Mormon, and I’m an agnostic atheist, so that causes little problems."
Larry, 86, filed divorce papers in August, citing irreconcilable differences. Copies of the legal documents show that the couple had separated on June 6.
Speaking of their relationship, King said he and Shawn, 60, overcame a lot, "but it just hit a point where we didn’t get along."
Realizing it was time to end things came after Larry suffered a stroke last year. While in hospital, had a sepsis infection and a new stent put in his heart. A few months later he shared the news, saying it was "amazing" that he survived the ordeal, from which nobody expected him to recover. When he woke up, his perspective had changed.
"I thought about what I wanted the rest of my life to be," he said. "When you’re 40 and there are moments of unhappiness in a marriage, you can overcome that. But it’s hard at my age. There is nothing worse than arguing. And I wanted to be happy."
Larry added that he would always care about his ex-wife, but things were just not working.
"I wish Shawn nothing but the best," he said. "We love each other."
Sources previously told TMZ they were not surprised about the divorce as the couple had been having marital troubles for several years. Larry had filed for divorce in 2010 but he and Shawn later reconciled.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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