Judge Mathis wants his wife back, and he says it’s all his fault that she filed for divorce in the first place. But the fault, he insists, wasn’t infidelity.
The star of TV’s court show “Mathis Court With Judge Mathis,” whose first name is Gregory, got served in mid-August when Linda Mathis filed for dissolution of their nearly 40-year marriage. Now he’s saying he neglected his wife, but kept his pants on when he was on the road.
“My wife has been third,” he said over the long weekend in a TMZ interview at Los Angeles International Airport. Then he rattled off a list of activities that seemed to put Linda in fourth place: “Serving the community, taping my show, having fun with friends. That’s what happens, guys. Never be too busy, never have too much fun.”
Mathis said that when his new show began taping in L.A. in 2023, after decades of shooting “Judge Mathis” in Chicago, he committed to staying home more and making his wife more of a priority. “But as you see, I haven’t. I’m still out here on the road doing the same thing … in terms of going out into another city.”
Greg and Linda, who were college sweethearts, got married in 1985, more than a decade before the premiere of “Judge Mathis,” which ran from September 1999 to May 2023. “Mathis Court With Judge Mathis” hit the air in earnest in September 2023.
Mathis, 61, is the longest-running Black male television host and second-longest-reigning arbitrator in courtroom TV history (behind Judith “Judge Judy” Sheindlin). In 2022, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The former judge in Michigan’s 36th District Court told TMZ he wanted to “eliminate” any rumors about a baby being involved, or about him “molesting a child.” “It’s none of that,” he said. “I just told you what it is.”
Regarding any rumors of infidelity, he said, “Neglect can create suspicion, certainly. And if you’re gone as much as I am, [your wife has] every right to suspect. You know, you go to work, you go serve in the community around the country, then you go with your guys to sporting events around the country, you go to other events, except without your wife hanging with you and enjoying herself with you. Yeah, she would have a right to suspect infidelity.” Still, Mathis said, “that was not the purpose” of his travels.
“That’s not the reason for this,” he said.
For now, the two are both staying in the same house and maintaining a friendship, Mathis said.
“I’m trying to get my wife back. I have to show her that, though. Hopefully I can show her while we’re there together … and hopefully she doesn’t complete the [divorce] process. I’m changing in hopes that she will.
“I’m going to get my wife back,” he said. “How about that?”
Times staff writer Malia Mendez contributed to this report.