Judge Mathis star Judge Greg Mathis’ wife Linda Reese has filed for divorce after 39 years of marriage, Us Weekly can confirm.
Linda filed paperwork on Thursday, August 22, citing irreconcilable differences, according to court documents obtained by Us. She listed their date of separation as July 17 and is asking for spousal support. TMZ was first to report the news.
The TV judge, 64, and Linda married in June 1985 and have four adult children: Jade, 39, Camara, 36, Greg Jr., 35, and Amir, 34. The family briefly starred on the short-lived E! reality show Mathis Family Matters in 2022.
Mathis presided over his eponymous syndicated courtroom show for 24 seasons between September 1999 and May 2023. (Warner Bros. canceled the show in February 2023.) During its run, Judge Mathis was awarded the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Legal/Courtroom Program in 2018.
Following the cancelation of Judge Mathis, Mathis teamed up with Allen Media Group for a new syndicated courtroom show. Mathis Court With Judge Mathis premiered in September 2023 and features Mathis’ son Amir as a bailiff.
“For years I’ve proudly watched Byron Allen build a first-class global media empire. After 24 years on the air, I can’t think of a better company to work with to create my next great chapter,” Mathis said in a statement announcing his new show in February 2023. “Byron and I are both from Detroit, and it’s exciting to see him build the Motown of court programming by bringing together all of my fellow judges from his eight court shows — who are the best of the best.”
In July, Mathis and Linda’s son, Greg Jr., announced his engagement to Elliott Cooper.
“To be completely honest, for many years, we weren’t sure if we wanted to formally get married,” Greg Jr. told People. “We knew that we loved each other and that we wanted to be together for life, but marriage seemed a bit more difficult to visualize.”
The couple said they kept their romance private during their first five years together because they were “afraid to share our relationship with the world out of fear of being judged.”
“We weren’t used to seeing two Black men date so publicly and unapologetically back then. We knew we loved each other very much but didn’t necessarily have a roadmap for what our relationship and future together could be,” explained Elliott.