To me, Kaley Cuoco has always seemed to have a bit of that “J.Lo Syndrome.” It’s not even that she has a terrible picker, it’s that she hates being alone, like J.Lo hates being alone. Being afraid to be alone means settling down with some weird guys. And so here it is, the news we’ve been waiting for: Kaley and her second husband Karl Cook are getting a divorce. On Friday (the Friday before a three-day holiday weekend), Kaley and Karl first announced that they were separating, then hours later came the confirmation that Kaley filed for divorce in LA Superior Court. Kaley and Karl issued an exclusive joint statement to People Magazine and everything:
Kaley Cuoco and her husband Karl Cook are going their separate ways. The Flight Attendant star, 35, and Cook, 30, announced the news Friday in a joint statement shared exclusively with PEOPLE.
“Despite a deep love and respect for one another, we have realized that our current paths have taken us in opposite directions,” they said. “We have both shared so much of our journey publicly so while we would prefer to keep this aspect of our personal life private, we wanted to be forthcoming in our truth together. There is no anger or animosity, quite the contrary.”
Their statement continued, “We have made this decision together through an immense amount of respect and consideration for one another and request that you do the same in understanding that we will not be sharing any additional details or commenting further.”
Cuoco, an avid equestrian, started dating Cook, also an equestrian, in 2016. They got engaged on her birthday in November 2017. They tied the knot on June 30, 2018, in a ceremony at a horse stable near San Diego, California, with close friends and family in attendance.
Karl comes from money, but Kaley is rich AF on her own, and I would be willing to bet that she is at least smart enough to have an iron-clad prenup. I suspect the biggest fights will be about who gets the horses and the dogs. They have a lot of horses and dogs. Their love of horses and dogs was what brought them together in the first place.
An unnamed source – who is probably Kaley’s publicist – told People Magazine that Kaley and Karl appeared very happy together at the beginning of the summer and “They were affectionate and seemed great.” Something went bad this summer then, and the source said: “The split seems very sudden. It’s pretty shocking.” Sure!
I looked through our archives because I couldn’t remember what I’d written about Karl before, all I remembered was that I had a vague dislike of him. I guess I never had a reason, I only had a vibe. I did see this story from last year – they never technically lived together until what was probably late 2020. They can afford to maintain multiple homes,of course, but it was kind of strange that they spent two full years of marriage never cohabitating full-time.
Photos courtesy of Getty, Avalon Red, Instagram.
Did Pete Davidson happen?
Hahahaha omg please no
Highly likely. His split from Phoebe Dynevor was announced 2 weeks ago. It’s a story as old as cinema… costars looking cosy together and gushing about each, who happen to split from their significant others at the same time. But I still don’t get Pete Davidson. Is he wildly different in person than how he comes across onscreen?
BDE
@lily
I think he is different irl. His comedy persona is that of awkward man boy but I think he is actually way more confident. I saw a bff interview with him and MG Kelly where they asked who was better at picking up women and they both responded with out a doubt it was Pete. I think he’s probably a really good conversationalist and has swagger.
I can totally see him and KC together. Their breakup timelines match up.
He seems vile. A big package only makes up for so much.
Honestly I don’t hate that. IDK if Kaley is really just a good time party girl IRL but I feel like her and Pete might have the same level of substance and could have a great superficial relationship.
@ Monette
That was my first thought too ! I wouldn’t be surprised if they are already dating on the low.
CDAN claims Pete and Kaley hooked up and he was the reason for the split. Yes I know, questionnable source. Still, very unexpected, especially after her recent anniversary Insta post.
IF true, I wonder if BDP may play in as a factor on both sides? (Pete/Kaley, not Karl/Kaley)
Also… random observation, but as an equestrian I followed Kaley and Karl’s posts and videos. Karl knows his stuff, but he seems to have a bit of a drinking problem…
Please for the love of God not Pete again!
*BPD (borderline personality disorder)
Exactly where my mind went. Then I slapped myself upside the head bc *blech*
I wondered the same.
It seems that she easily gets swept away in all the love and magical feelings and then reality kicks in
Talk in equestrian circles is that he never stopped cheating on her, and she finally had enough…or, she got swept up in the BDE that is (said to be) Pete Davidson 😂
I am in equestrian circles & he has always been a massive flirt & somewhat shady. There really weren’t too many “cheat” rumors since their wedding but multiple leading up to it. His father is a billionaire so he is that kind of “boy”. He is a really terrific rider & very serious about it. She loves to ride & is really good but she likes to act. One rumor was she agreed to stop after TBBT, at least for awhile so they could do a few circuits with no interruptions. She didn’t stick to that. On the plus side, his father really likes her so this should be a petty clean break. They each leave with what they came with. All the horses are individually owned. The dogs? Well they are another story. After the Sweeting debacle I am sure the prenup is iron clad but she got out of that one pretty painlessly.
What will be interesting is the equestrian circle fall out. It’s a v v small world.
Rich peeps don’t have to cohabitate like.
Neither do non rich peeps. My husband and I do not live together full time … we’re going on 15 years. It’s glorious. Highly recommend. 10 out of 10.
I’ve never been married but had two long term relationships like that and loved it. I also dated someone for a long time and we joked that we should buy a duplex because we liked our own space/stuff but also wanted to have easy access because we really did like each other’s company.
You are my HERO! I will never cohabitate with an adult man again, I can deal with my 11 year son, no children will be harmed in this comment.
My Mom and I bought a duplex, so my son and I live upstairs, and she is down. I could see finding someone I wouldn’t mind living on the other side of, or on top of, whatever, but I will not share a space 24/7 again. I am too light a sleeper, and too fond of things being where I left them.
Yup: Me too! 🙂 9 years here and highly recommend. Live two miles apart and just simply kept our own homes. Still “dating” 🙂
I’m curious what happened here bc on their own IG accounts, they were all lovey dovey on their anniversary which was just two months ago. Something definitely *happened*. I guess it will come out soon.
3rd party. Maybe not Pete though. Her husband is a huge thing on the equestrian circuit and like all sports, it has its groupies. But…maybe Pete. We’ll see. I love Kaley, it doesn’t matter to me.
this is only her 2nd divorce? i thought it was the 3rd…..can’t she just date them?
My follow up thought—my recollection is that she and her first husband split and she took up with and then married this fellow very quickly.
Now that you mention it, Pete and Kaley are perfect for each other! The can’t handle break ups, run straight into the next thing, and go from 0 to 1000 in an instant. They both love bomb.
Well it’s easy to write other people’s stories, but I am not sleeping on Karl Cook. His father is the billionaire founder of Intuit, and he’s got a lot of money himself obviously. He’s also a big star in his own field. In other words, this is a guy who despite initial impressions has women throwing themselves at him around the clock, and because of his profession he’s rarely home. Kaley will get the heat, but I bet the real story goes a lot deeper. Just my opinion.
IIRC she’s been engaged several times, but only married twice.
Elizabeth Taylor in the making. I just finished listening to her love life history on the Even The Rich podcast.
Oooo do tell!!
Elizabeth Taylor married six or seven times — disastrously— instead of just living together. Listen to the podcast. It’s really good.
I must manifest a Henry Cavill and Kaley reunification. If we can get Bennifer….
All jokes aside his grocery store outfit with Kaley still lives rent free in my head. How can someone so beautiful look so bad in clothes?
Who gets the horses? I wonder if they joint bought any horses together.
Awhile back one of them said they kept the horse stuff separate. They did a breeding program so there are a couple foals between their barns, but imagine there was a contract in place for care, training, and proceeds if/when sold.
Karl is a legit global-level equestrian with his own family money. Kaley is a talented rider who does it as a hobby. No way Karl was mixing horse with anyone.
I periodically look at their respective IG’s and wondered if something was going on as he hadn’t posted at all for a few weeks (he’s not a daily but fairly regular) and all her posts were about the movie or the dog she takes traveling. And if she’s already filed, not talk of trying a separation and hoping to work out, agree, something major snapped. Still a surprise; they seemed a good match. I like him, seems to have a strong work ethic and aside from showing is pretty engaged in equine health and how to make riding/show jumping a stronger sport and more affordable (his IG walking and talking stories are really interesting, and I’m not in the horseshow world or a rider). I’m more ambivalent about her, appreciate her commitment to animal rescue, but her acting is meh.
Doubt the asset splitting will be a big deal. Read an interview with one of them that they didn’t combine barns; they did breed a couple of their horses but from what I know there’s usually an agreement about that for raising then proceeds when the horse may be sold. Imagine she’ll keep the dog that live with her and vice versa. And would guess there is a strong prenup to cover both sides.
If something happening with Pete, maybe it’s a result of being pushed away for so long. Another gossip site wrote awhile back that it was he who didn’t want to cohabit and she wanted the house /babies So when pandemic hit she tried to make that happen by buying a new house to induce him to move in. Which I guess he did.
Pretty sure they built the house pre pandemic, I remember pics of the various stages and her sister/designer getting it set up while she was filming in NYC, but she was also having a ranch built for her stable of horses. My impression was opposite, his travel is more cyclical so was ready to settle more while her career seems to have hit a second wind and she wants to strike while it’s hot. I’m not a crazy fan of either so no idea why I seem to know so much or am so invested in this story, lol.
Pretty sure they built the house pre pandemic, I remember pics of the various stages and her sister/designer getting it set up while she was filming in NYC, but she was also having a ranch built for her stable of horses. My impression was opposite, his travel is more cyclical so was ready to settle more while her career seems to have hit a second wind and she wants to strike while it’s hot. I’m not a crazy fan of either so no idea why I seem to know so much or am so invested in this story, lol.
She did an interview around the time when she was getting married about wanting to start trying for a baby. So unless that didn’t happen due to medical reasons, maybe he wasn’t interested in having kids or was putting it off. On the other hand, her show The Flight Attendant took off so maybe she felt the pregnancy would interfere with shooting.
This actually made me really sad, I literally said WHAT??! b/c it seemed like they had my perfect life — joyous and full of horses and dogs! I guess that was just an imaginary life in my mind though.
Having tons of money and multiples houses surely makes the logistics of splitting up less of a painful struggle. Still sad.
Same here! They didn’t rush into the marriage either and seemed very happy and compatible. From everything I’ve read, Kaley is a warm and caring person who has strong friendships. I hope she finds someone who gives as much as she does. Maybe he was more demonstrative in private, but Karl always seems slightly cold and mocking of her.
@ Chanteloup – Agreed, the sadness is real.
I have to admit though, I am insanely curious as to what went down – and so quickly!
Obviously looking from the outside in, these two seemed to be a great match, equally besotted with each other and on the same page regarding their lifestyle and caring for animals, large and small. The gushing they shared on their 3rd wedding anniversary (in JUNE yo!) was beautiful and romantic. Their words made me believe in everlasting love and that this was a pair that were going to be together ‘forever and ever’.
I can’t imagine either one of them was thinking about divorcing just two short months ago so…I suspect it was an affair (either one) that blew this marriage up so decisively.
I feel sorry for all parties, including the animals.
p.s. Please God, not Pete Davidson, please no.
+1000
I never got that he was besotted with her. In all photos, he looks like he thinks the cameras are there for him.
I remember first seeing Kaley on 8 Simple Rules a long time ago- like so long there was a subplot about her whale tale thong.
I didn’t see her again until The Big Bang Theory which might be my least favorite show I’ve ever been able to make it through an entire episode of. A lot of my close friends went to MIT and I always thought it was odd how the show has these stereotypical “loser” guys and then this hot “dumb” girl. My two best friends are female mechanical engineers who are over 5’10” and stunning. I would have much rather watched a show about their exploits – preferably without a laugh track.
Hey, Johnny Galecki is single these days. Maybe Leonard and Penny can give it another go…
What happened to Johnny’s marriage/baby? I had no idea him and his wife split.
@LADY D — They broke up last year, around the holidays I think. I assumed it was a combination of her being way younger than him, them getting pregnant super quick, and pandemic proximity pressures.
I wanna manifest her back with Johnny!! She may be too old for him now though. 🙄
35 isn’t too old.
@JADED — It is when his ex was 23 to his 45 when they broke up. She was 20 when they got together.
@MangoAngelesque I wonder if he wonders why it didn’t work out. lol
Unfortunately this doesn’t surprise me. She seemed more into him than he was into her. He’s also into Mean Flirting, which I hate. (Ryan Reynolds seems to have calmed down a bit, but I hate when he does it too.)
This is my impression too. He seems like he can be mean.
He’s a spoiled rich kid, 5 years younger than she is. I imagine when he’s on equestrian tours there are young horse groupies all over him. He probably thinks he’s all that and a bag of chips and when they finally started actually living together the blinders fell from her eyes. He’s always struck me as a smarmy, full-of-himself git.
I was kind of surprised by this, they seemed very well-suited to each other. Hopefully it was something like when they actually spent a lot of time together and lived together, they discover they were a good match, rather than a third-party being involved. Especially the one that everyone is mentioning!
I was just watching Penny prance around and giving the people what they want on that Smirnoff commercial, and I thought, “I wonder what’s up with her and her hubby?”. And BAM! I’m gonna go buy a lotto ticket or something because, signs.
😉
I have been chomping at the bit waiting for this post. I love her, but she gives me Jlo/Elizabeth Taylor/ Kate Winslet vibes (the last one has had 3 husbands). They seemed like a good match, a bit of barbie and ken, far better than husband #1 who gave douche canoe vibes, but now I am dying to know why it imploded.
Chomping at the bit. Funny!
I’m kind of surprised but I don’t follow her super closely and I know nothing about her husband apart from he’s super into horses. Had no idea his father was a billionaire or what his background is. She has this manic perky energy which seems very tiresome but I figured since he was in the equestrian world and horsey that it was a good match for them.
I just learned Pete Davidson broke up with the Bridgerton actress a few weeks back today and only learned Kaley and Pete are shooting a movie together in the last few days. So as soon as I saw this headline today, like the commenters above my first question was “Did Pete Davidson happen?” I could see them having an intense 3-4 month fling while they shoot the movie together but not a forever type of relationship. Pete goes through women like dirty socks, I hate to say lol. He somehow has great game, his relationships just don’t last. It’s like he’s a budget version of Warren Beatty, he just hasn’t met his Annette Bening yet? I have a soft spot for him but would never want to date him. As for Kaley, she’ll be in another long term relationship before the end of the year and engaged by next year (not to Pete).
I’m getting similar vibes to Kate Bosworth and Justin Long.
“She scrubbed her IG of all trace of him.” Is that a grrrl thing or did Karl break a vow? She’s still on his IG which makes me think he didn’t see it coming either and is too heartbroken to scrub.