Judge Mathis’ wife files for divorce from TV personality after nearly 40 years of marriage
![Judge Mathis smiling in glasses and a brown suede jacket over a white sweater with colored trim at the neck](https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/31b824d/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2500x1661+0+0/resize/1200x797!/quality/75/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F6f%2F89%2Fce5aca914b5c80bd729fe9543ad5%2F12th-annual-sugar-ray-leonard-foundation-big-fighters-big-cause-charity-boxing-nigh-57604.jpg)
Judge Greg Mathis and his wife, Linda Yvette Mathis, are parting ways after almost four decades together.
Linda Mathis filed for divorce from the “Judge Mathis” star Thursday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing “irreconcilable differences” as the reason for the split, according to court documents reviewed by The Times.
It was a swift decision for Greg Mathis, the man behind the bench of the TV courtroom show “Judge Mathis.”
In the filing, she listed their date of separation as July 17 and noted that they have no minor children. She also applied for spousal support while asking that the court waive her husband’s right to request support from her. It is unclear whether the couple had a prenuptial agreement in place.
She also requested that Greg Mathis cover her legal fees.
Representatives for both parties did not reply immediately Friday to The Times’ request for comment.
The college sweethearts wed in 1985, more than a decade before the premiere of “Judge Mathis,” which ran for 24 seasons from Sept. 13, 1999, to May 25, 2023. The arbitration-based reality court show was recognized in 2004 with the NAACP Image Award for outstanding news, talk or information series, and in 2018 scored a Daytime Emmy for outstanding legal/courtroom program.
Days after Warner Bros. canceled ‘Judge Mathis,’ the court TV favorite announced a new fall 2023 series, ‘Mathis Court With Judge Mathis.’
Mathis is the longest-running Black male television host and second-longest-reigning arbitrator in courtroom TV history (behind “Judge Judy”) and in 2022 received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Before his Hollywood tenure, Mathis, 61, worked as a judge in Michigan’s 36th District Court.
Just days after his eponymous show was canceled last year by Warner Bros., Mathis announced he would be hosting a new courtroom show, “Mathis Court With Judge Mathis,” helmed by Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group.
In 2022, he also appeared alongside his wife and four children (and multiple grandchildren) — who all live in Los Angeles — in the docuseries “Mathis Family Matters.”
More to Read
The complete guide to home viewing
Get Screen Gab for everything about the TV shows and streaming movies everyone’s talking about.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.