World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder, Linda McMahon has officially separated from her husband, Vince McMahon.
Linda’s attorney Laura Brevetti confirmed that the Education Secretary nominee and Vince had separated in a report by the Washington Post.
After meeting as teenagers, Linda dated Vince McMahon while the pair were in high school as she attended Havelock High School in North Carolina while he attended Fishburne Military School in Virginia.
After graduating high school in 1966, at the age of just 17, Linda married Vince McMahon who was himself only 21 years old at the time.
They have two children together – Shane, their first child, who was born in 1970, and Stephanie, who was born in 1976.
Wednesday’s report marks the first time either Linda or Vince have publicly acknowledged their split.
The Wrestling Observer Newsletter reported in 2022 that Vince and Linda were separated but not divorced. At that time, neither McMahon commented on the report.
But when the couple split or whether they are officially divorced remains unclear.
While Linda, the former CEO of WWE from 1980 through 2009, may have parted ways with her husband, she still finds herself embroiled in a lawsuit alongside Vince.
A lawsuit was filed in Maryland in October against the McMahons, the WWE, and WWE parent company TKO, alleging negligence that allowed the group known as the ‘ring boys’ to be ‘exploited and sexually abused’ by a company employee.
The former WWE employee named as Melvin Phillips Jr. was the company’s’ ringside announcer and ring crew chief under McMahon’s leadership.
The plaintiffs alleged that the McMahons were aware they were being sexually abused by other WWE employees and did not do enough to protect them.
The ‘ring boys’ lawsuit, which was branded ‘baseless’ by Brevetti, cites the decision to come forward now coincides with the information they have learned from Vince McMahon’s lawsuit from Janel Grant, who claims he sexually assaulted her when she worked for the company.
Vince is additionally accused of trafficking Grant to other men and sharing nude photographs of the plaintiff. Grant is seeking unspecified damages from Vince.
Meanwhile, Vince faces another ongoing federal investigation by the Southern District of New York into allegations that he used his position at the helm of WWE to commit and conceal sexual abuse and trafficking, according to the Washington Post.
Securities and Exchange Commission filings by WWE’s parent company, TKO Group Holdings, allegedly show he agreed to pay $14.6 million in connection to ‘allegations of misconduct.’
The Wall Street Journal reported that the money was promised to women who accused him of sexual misconduct between 2006 and 2022.
The news comes days after Linda McMahon was nominated as the Secretary Of Education in government by President-elect Donald Trump.
