Bryant Gumbel and 70 blondes
AGC Queen
BRYANT Gumbel's divorce is shaping up as one of the nastiest in showbiz history
-- with his wife June branding him a "serial adulterer."
Furious June, who filed for a permanent separation on January 14, is leveling
these shocking accusations against her husband:
The CBS "Early Show" star had affairs with more than 70 women -- most of them
blondes -- during the marriage.
Bryant even cheated during the couple's engagement -- with a woman who
threatened to beat up June on the eve of her wedding.
The marriage was just weeks old when June intercepted the first of more than
two dozen love letters Bryant's girlfriends sent to the family home!
Now Bryant's openly living with young blonde girlfriend Hilary Quinlan in a
Manhattan love nest. And June is determined to get back at her cheating
husband.
She's discussed with her attorney the aggressive legal tactic of suing Gumbel
for "grievous fault" -- a strategy that would hinge on revealing in court all
the details of his cheating and could award her 70 percent of his
multimillion-dollar fortune.
As part of the plan, June could even call some of his celebrity friends as
witnesses to testify under oath about his cheating.
"June is going for Bryant's jugular!" an insider declared.
"She's so angry that she wants to see him go down -- and she doesn't care if
the nasty disclosures tick off network bosses and put Bryant's job in jeopardy.
"June has put up with so much. And he pushed her over the edge in recent months
with a nasty battle over money."
As The ENQUIRER revealed last week, June, 51, had to go to court to get
emergency financial relief from 51-year-old Bryant -- who was giving her just
$250 a month in support.
Gumbel, who signed a $25 million, five-year deal with CBS, shelled out $10
million for his love nest with Hilary.
"Now June is out to get Bryant good for the 26 years she kept quiet about his
womanizing," said the insider.
"She thought all these years that somehow his cheating was her fault -- that
she wasn't a good enough wife. But through long conversations with her priest,
and now in therapy, she's learned that Bryant was a 'serial adulterer' who had
one affair after another.
"June kept count of all the women he's cheated with -- and she's totaled more
than 70, all but a handful blondes.
"She told me Bryant was even cheating on her during their engagement!
"On the night before her wedding, June received a phone call from a woman
Bryant was seeing, who told her, 'Listen up 'cause I'm only saying this once:
Bryant is mine so if you marry him you'll get your ass whooped!'
"June feared for her life, but she went ahead and married Bryant. She thought
she could change him. She had no idea he was going to carry on like that
throughout their marriage.
"Her worst fears were realized when she began to intercept perfume-scented love
letters that Bryant's secret girlfriends were sending him -- directly to their
family home!"
June came across the first love letter just a few weeks after the couple's
marriage, a friend disclosed.
"She was doing laundry and checked to make sure his jeans pockets were clean.
She unfolded a crumpled piece of paper and read:
'' 'Hey Baby, I had a great time last night. Try to sneak out again soon
because I miss you already. Married or not, I'll always know you belong to me.
Love & Kisses, the woman you see in your dreams each night.'
"Tears rolled down June's cheeks as she read the letter. But then she decided
Bryant must have been holding the letter for someone else.
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FAST FACT!
Bryant's CBS office is filled with a collection of teddy bears and stuffed
M&M's characters.
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"Looking back, she admits that right then and there she knew the truth but
didn't want to ask Bryant for fear she'd be forced to accept reality.
"June thought that maybe once he got into the swing of marriage he'd straighten
up.
"And in a twisted way, June blamed herself. She thought if only she could be a
little more perfect, he'd love her a little bit more.
"Then June's excuse changed to believing that Bryant was bored in the marriage
and as a TV star he needed these young blonde women to boost his
self-confidence.
"But when Bryant went out of town for business or pleasure, he'd come home with
some sign that he'd been with another woman -- lipstick on his collars, phone
numbers in his briefcase.
"June began confronting Bryant about her findings and rather than answer her
question, he'd fire back and accuse her of being a snoop.
"One night he came home smelling like booze and perfume.
"June was awake in bed and watched Bryant through the crack of the bathroom
door as he rinsed lipstick off his shirt collar and buried his perfume-drenched
clothes in the bottom of the hamper.
"She knew there was no point in confronting him because all she'd get would be
lies.
"Things started getting even worse when Bryant's lovemaking techniques changed.
He was once a gentle and tender lover, but in the early 1990s he became rough
and wild.
"Rough sex was his preference and although June didn't enjoy it, she allowed it
because she wanted to satisfy Bryant.
"In her mind, June knew that some of Bryant's younger lovers had turned him on
to his new sexual desires."
Said the insider: "June spent her days intercepting the love letters so the
children wouldn't see the letters from 'Daddy's lady friends.'
"Now she may even read from the love letters in court. She really plans to nail
Bryant good -- she gave him so many chances to change, but he couldn't. And
then he added to her misery by flagrantly showing off his latest prize --
Hilary Quinlan."
In court, June may also call Bryant's celebrity friends as witnesses --
including "Today" show co-host Matt Lauer, who broke June's heart by inviting
Gumbel and Hilary to his 1998 wedding.
"June plans to further expose Bryant's dirty laundry in a tell-all book --
using the love letters," the insider added.
June's attorney Barry Slotnick would not comment to The ENQUIRER about June's
plans to sue Gumbel for "grievous fault."
But he did confirm that a judge has ordered Gumbel to pay a $4,000 monthly
allowance to June, $5,000 a month toward her maxed-out credit card bills, plus
the cost of the psychotherapy their two children -- Bradley, 21, and Jillian,
16 -- have been receiving.
In addition, the judge ordered Gumbel to pay roughly $40,000 a month for June's
mortgage, taxes and other day-to-day living expenses.
Bryant's attorney Stanley Arkin told The ENQUIRER: "We're looking for a common
sense and mature way to resolve this matter.
"Bryant moved out three years ago or more. He now has a relationship with a
very nice lady, which developed after he moved out."
But a determined June told the insider: "I went through 26 years of hell and
now Bryant is going to pay. I'm going to hit him where it hurts -- and let the
world know what a cheating rat he's been!"
-- SUZANNE ELY
Send email to: PUSSS...@aol.com
hat...@depot.com
love this guy, not just his girlfriends, but he has a lot of fans in
general but to me he seems rather perfunctory, almost lazy even though he
must certainly work very hard at his job. Anyway, I wish we could get
away from professional anchors in general and replace them with rough and
reader hard core reporters. You know, the ones who look ugly, have bad
pronunciation, and who quite often offer extreme viewpoints. In other
words, people who are honest and who have real insight to offer their
viewers.