Gary Owen recently opened up about his strained relationship with his adult children during an interview. He revealed that their relationship has been difficult for the past three years, a period that coincides with his divorce from Kenya Duke.
He admitted to infidelity during the marriage, which Duke cited as a reason for the divorce.
When Gary Owen and Kenya Duke met in the early 2000s, Kenya already had a son named Emilio, who Owen considers his eldest. During their relationship, they had two more children, Austin and Kennedy, all of whom are now adults.
Gary Owen’s discussion about his adult children followed his announcement that he recently had twins with Briana Johnson. This new development has added to the ongoing public interest in his family dynamics.
He made a joke about the racial backgrounds of his newborn twins before discussing his adult children. He admitted that he hadn’t anticipated having more kids and dismissed the idea of trying to “do it right this time.”
“I don’t think I did it wrong the first time. I was very conscious of how I spoke to them, how we disciplined them. I never put them down…I was the fun dad,” Owen said.
“It’s two-fold, I didn’t see myself being a dad but I think not having a relationship with my kids, you know…the twins are…in their idolizing dad stage.”
Gary Owen revealed that his adult children—Emilio, Austin, and Kennedy—have not met his newborn twins and do not have a relationship with them. He described the estrangement from his adult children as “a nightmare.”
“It’s like they’re my greatest accomplishment and greatest failure at the same time. But to see how it’s just crashed and burn since the divorce…”
Gary Owen attributed part of the strain in his relationship with his adult children to his divorce but ultimately took responsibility for not maintaining a strong enough bond to withstand challenges. He expressed uncertainty about how things deteriorated to such a degree.
Gary Owen also shared that he recently encountered Kenya Duke on a flight and used the opportunity to ask her for help in smoothing things over with their adult children.
