Who is Mary Lee Harvey?
Born Mary Lee Shackleford under the zodiac sign of Libra on 20 October 1960, in Texas USA, Mary Lee rose to prominence as the second wife of the famous comedian and host Steve Harvey. She holds American nationality, and her ethnicity is African-American. Before her marriage with Steve, Mary Lee worked in a local mall as a make-up artist. She prefers to keep her private life a secret, thus there isn’t any information regarding her family, childhood, and education.
Marriage with Steve Harvey
Mary Lee and Steve met in Arlington, Texas in 1989, at the time that Steve was working as a stand-up comedian; the two married in 1996, and welcomed their son, Wynton, on 18 July 1997. They both had children from previous marriages – although Mary Lee hasn’t disclosed information about the father of her son, Steven, it’s widely known that Steve’s first wife was Marcia Harvey with whom he had son Broderick Harvey Junior, born in 1991, and twin daughters Brandi and Kali.
Rumors were that Steve and Mary Lee started seeing each other while he was still married to Marcia, since their divorce wasn’t finalized until 1994.
Steve’s career was rising, and Mary Lee and he were often seen together at various events, hugging and smiling while posing for photographers and seemingly happy, however, according to Mary Lee, troubles in their marriage started after receiving some ‘phone calls in their home, in Los Angeles, California.
She was talking about a woman who used to call and ask for Harvey, and it seems that the woman was Steve’s future third wife, Marjorie. Mary Lee also stated that she received a letter from Steve’s mistress who revealed the details of their affair.
Steve and Mary Lee separated in 2005, and soon Mary Lee started her journey to prove to the world how Steve destroyed her life.
Their divorce was quite messy and hard, Mary Lee claiming that she was traumatized by their split, saying that he left her broke and homeless, and that Steve took their son away from her.
Mary Lee established a Twitter account in April 2011, and she tweeted about Steve, saying things like: ‘I am sick and tired of Steve Harvey, his lawyers, and being abused. My Son wants to come and see me and his Dad won’t let him. Suggestions?’
She’s also filmed a video which was posted on YouTube, giving her side of the story, and many women all around the world supported her in her ‘battle’, however, there were others who were advising her to move on with her life.
On 9 August 2011, the video “Interview with Mary Harvey” was posted on YouTube, which has been viewed over 800,000 times, in which Mary talked about her life with Steve, saying that he verbally abused her while they were in marriage.
Steve sued her, claiming that because of her negative rumors about him, he was denied a show on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN); the court ordered Mary Lee to cease talking about the divorce and custody case.
In December 2013, she was arrested for violating court orders, and spent a month in jail; when she got out she stated: ‘I didn’t violate any court orders, this is about ‘You’re not supposed to be talking to anybody about your divorce.’ That’s what they’re saying. I’m like, this is America. Am I angry? Yes, I missed six years of my son’s life and I can’t get those years back. I’m just a mother who wants to have access to my son without interference.’
How rich is Mary Lee Harvey?
However, Steve denied all the allegations about him, and court documents tell a different story than Mary Lee’s; she was paid $40,000 per month from 2005 until 2009, received $1.5 million as and three houses as part of their divorce settlement. Steve was granted custody of their son Wynton, because it was revealed that Mary had put their son on a plane and sent him alone to travel to his father’s home without his knowledge.
In 2017, Mary Lee sued Harvey, asking for $60 million damages, charging him for torture, offending, emotional distress, conspiracy against rights, and calling him ‘soul murderer’, however, the judge dismissed the suit in 2018.
According to sources, as of February 2022, Mary Lee has a net worth estimated at $500,000,
Who is Steve Harvey?
Broderick Stephen ‘Steve’ Harvey was born under the zodiac sign of Capricorn on 17 January 1957, in Welch, West Virginia USA; he holds American nationality and his ethnicity is African-American. He’s an actor, author, television and radio host, and former stand-up comedian, perhaps known best as the host of shows such as “Family Feud”, “The Steve Harvey Morning Show”, and “Miss Universe”.
He was raised in Welch by his parents – his mother Eloise Vera was a housewife, while his father Jesse Harvey was a coal miner; he has two sisters Mona and Paulina, and a brother, Terry.
The family eventually moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where Steve attended Glenville High School, and upon matriculating in 1974, he enrolled at Kent State University, then transferred to West Virginia University, from which he graduated with a BA in 1978.
Steve struggled after graduation, working various jobs, until starting to perform stand-up comedy in 1985.
In the late ’80s he was homeless for a while, sleeping in his car when he performed gigs that didn’t provide accommodation, and showering at gas stations or swimming pools.
On 16 April 1990, Steve was a finalist in the Second Annual Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search, and soon afterwards become the host of “It’s Showtime at the Apollo”, and then in 1994, he made his acting debut in the series “Me and the Boys”.
Today, Steve is one of the most successful television hosts, with a net worth estimated at over $60 million.
Speaking about his private life, after he divorced Mary Lee, in June 2007 Steve married Marjorie Bridges, and adopted her three children Morgan, Lori, and Jason. The two are still in a marriage, and Steve stated that Marjorie has made him a better man, and changed his life.
