Meghan King and Cuffe Biden Owens were forced to call it quits after the reality TV star’s ‘very public’ lifestyle took a toll on their short-lived marriage, DailyMail.com can reveal.
The former Real Housewives of Orange County cast member left fans stunned on Monday after confirming her separation from Joe Biden‘s attorney nephew, two months after they tied the knot in front of the president and first lady.
King, 37, did not disclose the reason behind the shock split but sources close to the couple have revealed Owens, 42, had struggled to cope with the fame and publicity surrounding his TV star wife.
A friend of Owens told DailyMail.com: ‘Cuffe is a very private person and I don’t think he fully understood the dynamics of marrying someone who is the complete opposite when it comes to being in the spotlight.
Meghan King and Cuffe Biden Owens called it quits two months after tying the knot during a small ceremony at Kennett Square Golf and Country Club in Pennsylvania in October
King, 37, first went public with her relationship with Joe Biden’s nephew in September. Sources told DailyMail.com Owens had struggled to cope with his wife’s ‘very public’ lifestyle
‘Meghan is all about sharing her life on social media, something Cuffe was okay with at the beginning, but when reality set in he realized he couldn’t live his life that way.
‘Cuffe didn’t want their relationship under the microscope 24/7. It’s just not him. He values his privacy too much, unlike Meghan who comes with her entourage of a million followers.’
King and Owens had kept their relationship under wraps for some time before deciding to go public on Instagram in September – just weeks before their wedding on October 11.
But followers began to suspect there was trouble in paradise earlier this month when King shared a photo of herself on a hotel bed during the couple’s ‘two month anniversary staycation’ and asked fans for ‘good marriage’ advice.
‘We feel like we’ve been married for a million years (thanks to marrying later in life and with a lot of history and, well, kids) so a two month anniversary staycation was called for. Tomorrow real life commences but a few hours in a hotel will do a new marriage good. Please, give us more good marriage tips!’ she wrote.
Some also took note of the fact that Owens had recently stopped appearing in King’s social media photos and was last featured on her Instagram on November 24.
According to the insider, Owens was aware social media was a big part of Meghan’s lifestyle but ‘just didn’t comprehend the implications this meant for his life.’
King confirmed the end of her marriage in a lengthy Instagram story shared on Monday morning, just two months after the couple married in a backyard ceremony
Former Real Housewives of Orange County star Meghan King is pictured in one of the early photos of the couple’s relationship
Cuffe Biden Owens (right) is seen with wife Meghan King in a photo she posted October 8, 2021, just three days before their wedding
‘Cuffe never expected her to quit social media, he knows it’s Meghan’s livelihood,’ the source added.
‘Had they slowed down a bit, I think the marriage would never have happened in the first place. It was an exciting, whirlwind romance.’
The friend said it wasn’t one particular post that turned Owens off, but King’s ‘entire lifestyle of constantly documenting everything.’
King’s life in the limelight and the paparazzi, coupled with his own claim to fame as President Biden’s nephew became ‘all too much’ for Owens.
‘It wasn’t until they were married that Cuffe realized their relationship would become another subset of topics to discuss with her followers, like when she asked them for marriage advice,’ the source continued.
‘It came to a point where Cuffe didn’t know what was going to be made public and what wasn’t going to be made public.
‘He couldn’t live that way, it made him feel on guard. Imagine living that way for the rest of your life.
‘He never wanted to be a celebrity and didn’t understand that marrying a celebrity pretty much throws you in the limelight whether you like it or not, and then add the fact that your uncle is the President of the United States.
‘Look at Meghan’s past relationships, every detail played out in public,’ the friend added.
Earlier in December, King detailed how she was going away for a night in a hotel with her husband. She said she was wearing her ‘special pajamas’ and asked for ‘marriage tips’
King said that it felt as though she had been ‘married for a million years’ and asked for ‘good marriage tips’
King, who has been married three times, said she had been asked by ‘many outlets and individuals to comment on the state’ of her marriage’ after she shared a series Christmas photos without Cuffe by her side
Addressing their separation on Instagram on Monday, King admitted to being ‘rattled’ over the ‘profoundly devastating’ situation.
‘This is obviously not what I imagined when I made my vows — and I’m shocked and saddened by the way things turned out,’ she wrote.
‘I am moving forward with my children as we privately process our pain and begin to let go of shattered dreams.’
King, who has been married three times, told her one million Instagram followers that she had been asked by ‘many outlets and individuals to comment on the state of my marriage’ after she had shared a series Christmas photos days earlier without Cuffe by her side.
‘At this time I ask for your grace and gentle kindness as I navigate this labyrinth of grief with my family,’ she added.
Although it’s not exactly clear when the couple began dating, the pair confirmed their relationship to the public just weeks before getting married.
King shared an Instagram post on September 25 of her and her new beau embracing while enjoying drinks at a bar.
‘Trying my best to avoid any cheesy introductions like “my main squeeze”… so just meet my man,’ she wrote to her legions of fans.
King’s twin sons, Hart and Hayes, and her daughter, Aspen, were part of the wedding party and her father walked her down the aisle
President Biden, First Lady Jill and granddaughter Naomi Biden walk across the South Lawn of the White House after attending the wedding of Biden’s nephew Cuffe Owens and former Real Housewives of Orange County Star Meghan King
Owens is the son of Biden’s sister Valerie Owens, pictured right next to President Biden in black and white dress in 2013
Owens is the son of Biden’s sister, Valerie Owens, who has played a pivotal role in her brother’s political career including as adviser to his triumphant 2020 presidential run.
Cuffe and Meghan exchanged vows at Owens’ childhood home in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania where President Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden were among the guests at the nuptials.
Prior to her marriage with Owens, King had previously been married to a classmate, Brad McDill, but they separated in October 2011.
She married MLB superstar Jim Edmonds in 2014 and divorced after five years over allegations that Edmonds was unfaithful.
The couple finalized their divorce in May following years of back and forth bitterness due to his infidelities, which included when he allegedly sent photos of his penis to a woman the day Meghan gave birth to their twins. King also accused him of cheating one of their nannies.
Meghan’s marriage came months after she finalized her divorce from Jim, following years of he-said, she-said after the end of their five-year union
Jim filed for divorce from the former Real Housewives of Orange County vet in October 2019, just a day after the couple’s five-year wedding anniversary. Pictured is Meghan and her ex-Jim Edmonds’ wedding
Meghan starred on season 10 of the Real Housewives of Orange County before hanging up her reality hat in season 12
On Tuesday fellow RHOC cast member and friend Tamra Judge told Two T’s In a Pod podcast that she had reached out to King privately after the news broke.
‘I did reach out to her and I’m not going to disclose what she said, but she’s devastated,’ Judge, 54, said.
‘I feel bad,’ she added. ‘We’ve all met somebody, fell in love and thought, “This is the one,” and then afterwards you’re like, “Ugh, thank god I didn’t marry him!”‘
The housewife also revealed Meghan was probably dealing with online trolls and haters since the split.
‘She’s truly devastated. It’s not what she wanted so it’s sad,’ she added.
‘Can you imagine publicly dealing with that? People are like, “Told you so,” or “That was too soon.” She’s probably dealing with all that, beating herself up and being sad.’