Key Takeaways
- Gary Owen admitted cheating on ex-wife Kenya Duke “a few times” but said he expects to remain “100% faithful” to current wife Brianna Johnson.
- Owen attributed the change to stronger intimacy and communication with Johnson, contrasting it with the mutual disconnect and nearly sexless final years of his first marriage.
- His comments follow a recent reunion with Duke, arranged by their son Austin after six years apart, amid Owen’s efforts to address his estrangement from his older children.
Gary Owen isn't pretending he was faithful during his first marriage. But the comedian says he doesn't plan on repeating those mistakes with his current wife, Brianna Johnson—and he says the difference comes down to what happens at home.
During his latest sit-down with DJ Vlad, Owen was confronted directly about cheating on his ex-wife, Kenya Duke. "You did cheat on your ex-wife," Vlad said. Owen didn't dodge it: "Oh, my God. A few times here and there. Yeah."
But when Vlad asked whether Owen and Johnson have an understanding about infidelity or expect complete monogamy, Owen was equally clear: "I expect to be 100% faithful."
Vlad immediately pressed him on why, pointing out that Owen is 53, spends significant time on the road, and regularly encounters women while touring. Owen said his lifestyle has changed—he doesn't spend his downtime hitting nightclubs and bars like he once did—but said the biggest difference is his relationship itself.
"The biggest difference between this marriage and my last marriage is like, we weren't intimate, right, at all," Owen said. "We had three times the last six years of our marriage."
Owen stressed that he wasn't putting the collapse of his sex life with Duke solely on her. "This isn't a knock on my ex-wife," he said. "The feeling was mutual. Like, we just weren't into each other. If we were, we would have been sleeping together."
He said the disconnect became particularly obvious when the two spent roughly five months sleeping in the same bed during the COVID era without being intimate. With Johnson, Owen said, "This one's different." He added, "I enjoy being intimate with her. I enjoy—I look forward to coming home."
Communication, Owen argued, has also changed. Rather than treating a partner's lack of interest in sex as an indefinite rejection, he said he and Johnson talk about when they can reconnect. "I'm just tired, babe. Tomorrow though, I'm all yours," Owen offered as an example, adding that having that conversation prevents uncertainty from building between partners. "It's really just—I know it sounds like—you say it's communication."
The comments put Owen's recent reunion with Duke into sharper context. The former couple, who married in 2003 before Duke filed for divorce in 2021, recently reunited for the first time in six years at the urging of their son, Austin.
"Got my parents back together for the first time in 6 years. God is good," Austin wrote on Instagram.
Owen responded, "It was nice hanging out and catching up."
Their divorce had previously spilled into public view through financial disputes, allegations of infidelity, and Owen's eventual estrangement from his older children. Owen later called that estrangement his "greatest failure."
