“Big wedding weekend for favourite son Will and my favourite daughter-in-law, the lovely @elisemariesmith. Swipe left for photos of the rehearsal, with @oprah weighing in … turns out she’s a pretty good wedding planner!” wrote the groom’s proud mama.

Gwyneth Paltrow expressed her support by commenting on the post, “Congrats Gayle, he is such a good guy”. Kerry Washington also shared her congratulations to the happy couple, as seen on Instagram.

According to People, King first publicly shared news of her son’s wedding in an interview with CBS Mornings. She gushed that her “favourite son Will and my new favourite daughter-in-law Elise Smith tied the knot on Sunday”. She added, “Oprah, of course, was there, ‘cause it was at Oprah’s house. It’s always nice when she lets us use her house.”

So, who is William Bumpus Jr exactly?

William Bumpus Jr is Gayle King’s only son

Gayle shares two children with her ex-husband William Bumpus.

According to People, she had her daughter Kirby Bumpus in 1986, and welcomed their son William Bumpus Jr in 1987. Kirby now has two children of her own, Grayson and Luca, with Virgil Miller.

What does William Bumpus Jr do for a living?

Per People, Bumpus Jr currently works as a managing partner at Phoenix Rising and is a partner at Concrete Rose Capital. He is also the founder of a non-profit organisation called ReWerk, which is “dedicated to creating more equitable opportunities for students and communities of colour”.

Who is William Bumpus Jr’s wife?

Bumpus Jr’s new wife is Elise Smith, who seems to be relatively private, like her spouse.

According to her Instagram bio, she is the co-founder and CEO of Praxis Labs, a company that “makes workplaces more human through immersive learning technology”.

“My parents’ fight for educational equity is what has inspired me to fight for access and opportunity,” her bio on the company website explains. “Our systems and structures should allow us all to thrive in our workplaces and in the places we frequent every day – that’s why I do this work.”

Are Gayle King and William Bumpus Jr close?

It’s safe to say that this mother-and-son duo is a tight-knit one. King regularly shares updates of their lives on her social media, and they have regular family traditions they’ve maintained for years. According to People, the pair regularly celebrate William’s birthday at Red Lobster – something they’ve been doing since he was eight years old. “He loves the biscuits,” King wrote in 2019 in a post shared to Instagram. “Tradition continues w/fav daughter & her fiancé! & family”.

Why did William Bumpus and Gayle King split up?

In a 2016 interview with Vanity Fair, King was asked to name a living person she despises, to which she replied, “‘Despise’ is a strong word. I’m not a huge fan of the woman I caught naked with my now ex-husband on June 24, 1990, at 9:16pm – but I don’t remember the details.”