Billy Bush’s split from estranged wife Sydney Davis had “nothing to do” with his infamous Donald Trump scandal, Us Weekly can exclusively reveal. In fact, Davis has supported the TV personality since the 2005 interview went public in October 2016.
“Sydney is with the vast majority who knows he was a collateral damage in a hit job. She was more mad than anyone!” a source tells Us. “Sydney fully supported Billy 100 percent throughout their marriage, especially during that time. She supported him more than anyone. They have been married since they were both young and worked really hard at making this marriage work, especially for their daughters. They are separated and are continuing to work to make their relationship better.”
As previously reported, Bush, 45, and the then-Celebrity Apprentice host, 71, were caught engaging in misogynistic banter before they filmed a segment for Access Hollywood. Trump spoke about failing to sleep with a married woman (who was revealed to be Nancy O’Dell) and that he “moved on her like a bitch.”
“You know I’m automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It’s like a magnet. Just kiss. I don’t even wait,” Trump said at the time. “And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything.”
Bush opened up about the tape days later. “Obviously I’m embarrassed and ashamed,” he told Us in a statement in October. “It’s no excuse, but this happened 11 years ago — I was younger, less mature and acted foolishly in playing along. I’m very sorry.” (Bush was 33 and Trump was 59 at the time.)
Bush, who laughed during the conversation, was fired by NBC days after the clip surfaced. Trump, meanwhile, called the incident “locker-room talk” and was inaugurated as the 69th President of the United States in January.
Bush would later discuss the situation in length in a Hollywood Reporter cover story, which was published on May 21.
“I am not grateful for the moment. But I’m grateful for what I’ve gotten out of it. I’m grateful that it hit me all the way to my core,” he said. “And my wife, Sydney, knows the environment and the atmosphere I was in at the time, and she knows very well the person she married. She has been very supportive from the very beginning.”
The former couple are parents of daughters Josie, Mary and Lillie.
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