World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder, Linda McMahon, has officially announced her separation from her husband, Vince McMahon.
Legal representative Laura Brevetti has confirmed the separation, highlighting that Linda, the Education Secretary nominee, and Vince McMahon have called it off, following a report by the Washington Post.
Their relationship blossomed during their teenage years; Linda attended Havelock High School in North Carolina, while Vince was at Fishburne Military School in Virginia. Despite going their separate ways in high school, the pair reconnected, and at the tender age of 17, Linda married Vince, who was 21.
They have two children together – Shane, their first child, who was born in 1970, and Stephanie, who was born in 1976.
This separation is the first time either Linda or Vince has publicly addressed the issue, with the Wrestling Observer Newsletter reporting in 2022 that Vince was separated but not divorced. However, at that time, neither McMahon commented on the matter, leaving the status of their divorce unclear.
In spite of their personal differences, Linda, who served as the CEO of WWE from 1980 to 2009, remains embroiled in legal proceedings with Vince. A lawsuit was filed in Maryland in October against the McMahons, WWE, and WWE’s parent company, TKO Group, claiming negligence that allowed a group of ‘ring boys’ to be exploited and sexually abused by a company employee.
The lawsuit, which has been branded ‘baseless’ by Brevetti, alleges that the McMahons were aware of the sexual abuse occurring under their watch and failed to protect the victims. It also accuses Vince of facilitating and concealing such abuse, as well as sharing inappropriate images with the victims.
Additionally, Vince is facing a federal investigation by the Southern District of New York for allegations of using his position at the helm of WWE to perpetrate and cover up sexual abuse and trafficking, as reported by the Washington Post.
Concurrently, WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, has agreed to pay $14.6 million to settle claims of misconduct, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. The settlement is in response to ‘allegations of misconduct’ and covers women who accuse Vince of sexual misconduct between 2006 and 2022.
This development comes just days after Linda McMahon’s nomination as the Secretary of Education by President-elect Donald Trump.
