I sort of forgot that Jennifer Hudson never ended up marrying David Otunga. They got engaged years ago, and they’ve been raising their 8-year-old son together, but J-Hud and David never did walk down the aisle. And now they’re never going to. Jennifer and David have broken up, ended their engagement, and not only that, Jennifer has received a protective order against Otunga. So… yeah, this is messy. It’s even messier because Otunga’s lawyer has gone to multiple media outlets to claim his client is completely innocent and this is all some kind of custodial issue.
Jennifer Hudson and fiancé David Otunga have ended their relationship after ten years.
“They have been in the process of ending their relationship for a number of months,” Hudson’s rep tells PEOPLE exclusively in a statement. “Today, Jennifer requested and received a protective order against her ex-fiancé. Jennifer’s actions are solely taken in the best interest of their son,” the statement concluded.
Hudson, 36, and Otunga, 37, are parents to 8-year-old David Daniel Otunga Jr. Otunga’s attorney, Tracy M. Rizzo, released a statement to PEOPLE on behalf of the former pro wrestler following the split news.
“Mr. Otunga has never abused or harassed Ms. Hudson or their son, and it is unfortunate, especially in today’s climate, that she would feel the need to make these false allegations against him. Mr. Otunga looks forward to his day in court and in being awarded the residential care of the parties’ only child,” a part of the statement read.
Former pro wrestler Otunga proposed to Hudson in September 2008 after less than a year of dating. The couple welcomed their only child nearly a year later in August 2009. About a month after becoming engaged, Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, and her brother, Jason Hudson, were found fatally shot in a Chicago home. Her 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found dead in the backseat of a car. Hudson’s former brother-in-law William Balfour was convicted of the murders in 2012.
As far as I can tell, Jennifer Hudson has not publicly said anything about Otunga other than her rep’s announcement about the split and protection order. We don’t know WHY she was granted a protection order, although we can assume that her lawyers provided evidence to the court of Otunga’s harassment or abuse or both. Otunga’s lawyer also went to TMZ, because Harvey Levin is the patron saint of Men’s Rights Advocates, right? Here’s what Otunga’s lawyer told TMZ:
“David Otunga has been trying to negotiate the terms of an amicable parenting agreement with Ms. Hudson for several weeks now. However, when it became apparent to Ms. Hudson that Mr. Otunga would be the parent granted residential care of the child, as a result of Mr. Otunga being the child’s primary caregiver while Ms. Hudson pursues her career all over the world, Ms. Hudson decided to file a meritless Petition for Order of Protection in an effort to gain an unfair advantage in the custody dispute. As a result of Mr. Otunga’s career in the WWE, Ms. Hudson felt that she could give an award winning performance in court to portray herself as the victim. Mr. Otunga has never abused or harassed Ms. Hudson or their son.”
Yeah, just in case you weren’t already predisposed to BELIEVE WOMEN, I would say that Otunga’s lawyer makes a good case for why you should do so. His lawyer is flat out calling Jennifer Hudson a liar and the kind of woman who would lie about her partner being abusive because of a custody dispute. I don’t even believe this guy when he says that Otunga was about to get primary custody, honestly. Anyway, this went from low-key to gigantic mess in about two seconds, and I would imagine that we’ll hear more from Jennifer Hudson in the days and weeks to come.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Good for her. He came off really badly when they got together and then engaged, so I’m happy she’s finally broken free of him.
Interesting, I didn’t know…how did he come off badly? Curious because he’s always came off as a regular guy in general so I’d like the tea. I know that going on I Love NY is bad and embarrassing enough lol.
I want to know too. Also, I only remember him from “I Love New York”, a guilty pleasure from many years ago. Lol
That is ALWAYS the very FIRST thing that I think of when I see him!
The first thing I thought of was ‘Who the f#ck is this guy?” He’s obviously never been in anything worthy of my time.
May I translate his lawyer’s statement:
“David Otunga has been trying to negotiate the terms of his Big Payout from Ms. Hudson for several weeks now. However, when it became apparent to Mr. Otunga that Ms. Hudson’s response would be “go pound sand”, Mr. Otunga threatened to sue for full custody of their child. Ms. Hudson filed a protective order to protect her parental rights.”
Hmm…earlier this year, Otunga’s role as a major commentator on WWE was drastically reduced from the weekly live show, to I think returning as some kinda small pre show thing? I wonder if that was in preparation for the split or Jen’s schedule, but they claimed it was for his acting roles. I think that Jennifer’s past(horrific murder of family by sister’s ex) might make it more reasonable for a protective order to be given, even without abuse. If he is the primary caregiver then he should be the one given custody, for the stability of the kid. If there’s actual abuse then I hope she has proof, so she can protect herself and her son.
*their son.
I hope you feel the same about women who go to the press as well.
Let’s weigh the probabilities here:
The chance that JHud would receive a protective order on the basis of past events not directly involving her and this partner = unlikely.
Likelihood of a woman getting a protective order without tangible proof = 0.000001
Any lawyer that uses language like that knows they’ve got an uphill climb to make their client’s opponent look worse than their client.
I’m firmly JHud here. This guy sounds like a douche.
He’s probably angling for a pay out. He will probably keep leaking sh-t until she agrees to pay him some sort of settlement. This is what happens when the checks stop coming. He got used to that cushy lifestyle.
He’s really creepy. She’s had a tough fame road. First her family was murdered and it seems like an abuse relationship to boot. I do root for her and hope she comes out finding the love she deserves.
She has had it so hard. Team Jennifer.
I always thought he was creepy and icky. JH can do better, and I never understood what she saw in him.
I always side eye men who run to the press during a relationship split. It’s usually a preemptive strike to cover for their bad behaviour, and they forget that the children involved will only have to google this to find it. Even if the split isn’t mutual there’s no need to go to the press and call her a liar when you do it. I wish the best for her & her son.
Oh geez, I always liked him on “I Love New York”… but then again, if you are the type of guy to go on I Love New York, I don’t know what I can say about you. It’s pretty thirsty.
Anyways, I hope Jennifer is safe. She’s been through enough.
Because of what happened with her family I would think that she would be intolerant of any firm of abuse. But I think that the above photo of their family is interesting. He is clapsing her wrist and has his hand on her ass, and the one free hand she has is resting on her son’s shoulder, establishing a connection to him.
I think you are making more of that picture than is there. I went back to look at it more carefully. He is not clasping her wrist, they look like they are holding hands, his hand is on her hips not her ass. It looks like a family to me. I’m not saying there isn’t a reason for the protection order but to make more of that picture than is there is just stoking the fire. JMO.
With all the heartache Jennifer had to endure when her mother, brother and nephew were murdered, this creep best not mess with her. She is a beautiful woman, with the voice of angel and deserves no less than the best. Hit the road Jack.
yes to everything you said.
And the lawyer and his lady hate can hit the road too.
To be fair, she was also rumored to have several other relationships in the past few years- the worse was with Creepy David Foster- uccchhh
I hope she takes time to focus on herself and son- she has already survived the worse with her family tragedy. She was showing some sense- didn’t marry him year one like so many
But if California, this is comman law I think?
@Reality check – California does not recognize common-law marriage. Only a handful of states do nowadays.
Doesn’t this dude have a law degree himself. Why in the world did he think playing this out in the press was gonna get him more money. Hudson is liked and as far as I can see scandal free.
He was on “I love New York”. Enough said.
David seems to be the primary caregiver. I follow her on IG and David Jr would stay home with him when she would work in other countries,like The Voice Australia.Also when she would do films,concerts,etc.
So I think she may have to pay child support or maybe pay him off.There is no way they are splitting without him getting some money or property,married or not.
I’ve had a soft spot for Jennifer since her days on American Idol. Given the horror that she and her sister had to endure at the hands of an unhinged ex I certainly don’t blame her for being overly cautious. I wish the best for her and her son, and if David has been abusive I hope they’re able to get far away from him.
When a woman is in entertainment, the husband’s lawyer always makes out that she is negligent as a mother because she flies all over the world for her career. Same as Scarlet Johansson.
What makes it also hard for Jennifer is that David graduated from Harvard Law School and was a practicing attorney for one of the big Chicago Law firms. So he knows the law and how to use it. I work in Chicago for a law firm that handles divorce and except for blatant physical and mental abuse, by the husband, there are 2 sides of a divorce story. This divorce looks like it is going to be a long and bumpy ride.
well, they were never married, so there’s no divorce to be had – just an ugly custody battle, apparently!
Except that they aren’t married which makes some things messier and other things less so.
Sadly mental abuse doesn’t count for shit in my province in divorce, the only abuse judges take notice of is physical and sexual. All abusers should be held accountable for all types of abuse. Rant over.
‘While she travels all over the world pursuing her career’. Oh HOW VERY DARE SHE. Let’s start demonizing the woman for having/wanting a career. The witch.
F this shit. Her rep said nothing critical of him in their comment, whereas his lawyer is basically calling calling her a liar and accusing her of more or less abandoning her son. My guess is his team’s strategy is to shame her in the media so she pays up.
F him and anyone else who shames a woman for her drive and success.
Well said, Clare, well said
I know in the current climate it’s “all women, all the time,” but this smacks of Halle Berry to me. They broke up months ago, she starts seeing someone else, he takes care of the kid, points out that he should have primary custody (as main caregiver) and then he’s tossed out of the family home and labeled abusive? Not all men are scum and as unpopular as it might be, not all woman are saints.
And she will pay child support just like Halle does.
It seems like you’ve already decided that she’s falsely accusing him of abuse based on your feeling like men are being persecuted by women right now. She’s got a protective order against him, she’s split from him, and her rep made a vague statement about the decision being in the best interest of their son. But she hasn’t made any statements to the press accusing him of anything. He’s the one who ran to TMZ to announce that he’s never harassed or abused her or their son.
Add to that the fact that Harvey Levin is tight with 45 and we know how he feels about women.
I just LOVE JHud and wish the best for her.
I’m sure she wouldn’t be granted a protective order if she didn’t have proof of some seriously shady behaviour on David’s part. At the same time, just like Halle Berry, women can and do make up abuse allegations to get an advantage over custody, only to be proven wrong once both sides face each other in court. All I hope is that their son is safe and well taken care of.
Otunga is a Harvard educated lawyer. He’s also signed to the WWE as a commentator and pretty sure he also does legal work for them. He’s not some scrub who is trying to get a pay out. He is also a caring dad. He used to be a wrestler for the WWE, the reason he stopped was because it meant he would be away from home too many days. He gave up his chances at a highly lucrative wrestling career because he’s a family man. Also, this https://theblast.com/wwe-david-otunga-rents-out-movie-theater-ailing-niece/ does that seem like something that would done by the kind of guy people here are trying to paint him as? He’s not an angel, but demonizing him and making him sound like an abusive gold digger is wrong.
Reporting the fact that she has a protective order against him is demonizing him?
Sweetie, he was “Punk” on I Love NY. Like are you even serious.
Enough said for me. He’s clearly a famewhore who is after easy money, demonstrated by his own actions. That’s not “demonizing.” You don’t go on trashy Vh1 shows where the objective is to “date” one of the biggest reality show messes in history if you’re not those things.
Also, this is a gossip site. You can go to the WWE site and fanboy out if you’re so inclined, but here we talk shit about people. GMAFB
I don’t know if this rumor is true or not, but a few weeks ago there was a rumor about Jennifer getting very serious and saying “Don’t ever mention my engagement again” when one of her Voice co-stars joked about her long engagement. With everything that she’s been through, (and of course it’s still painful for her. I could see that when another contestant brought it up on the voice, comparing her situation to Jennifer’s) she could just be very private about family members and not want people to pry. But that could have been a sign of something that was going on with this. Who knows. I hope she and the child are safe.
I’m normally immediately on the woman’s side, but something about this isn’t jiving.
What isn’t jiving on her part? That her camp said nothing negative about him or that his camp ran to TMZ, People and trashed her? Please explain.
What a cute little boy.
Hopefully this can be resolved with as little salacious gossip as possible. She’s been through a lifetime of awful already.
I dont know, but do they ever pull that “pursue their career all over the world” BS about men??? Is he gonna be sitting at home not working for the next 18 years? Is he gonna cook every meal every day? Does anybody ever give a sh!! about a man not being available??
Remeber when David was in that vh1 show and dated new York 😭
I’m predisposed to believe evidence. The burden of proof being on the accuser, whilst not perfect, is better than the alternative.
Ask the child what he wants. and what makes him feel safe.