Steve Harvey Co-Host Shirley Strawberry's Marriage To Jailed Husband Exposed As Sham After She Dissed Marjorie Harvey
Steve Harvey's radio show co-host Shirley Strawberry's years-long marriage to her now-estranged husband Earnest Williams was allegedly a sham from the start, according to a prosecutor.
Strawberry is in the process of divorcing Williams, who was indicted on 39 counts of fraud last month in Georgia after he allegedly stole more than $750,000 from at least 25 victims, according to documents obtained by the New York Post.
While the "Steve Harvey Morning Show" co-host is not suspected of being a part of his alleged crimes, Williams, 57, was accused in the 39-page indictment of fraudulently marrying Strawberry and using her fame in his scheme to swindle the individuals, most of whom are women.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said that Williams, who also goes by Nesto and Ernesto, already had a wife when he married Strawberry in January 2015.
"We believe she met a man, fell in love, and married him, and the truth is, at the time, he was already married to someone else," Willis told WSB-TV.
The documents alleged that Williams "knowingly entered into a fraudulent marriage with Shirley Strawberry" and "used the void marriage and the high-profile celebrity connections he made because of the void marriage in furtherance of other frauds."
Strawberry filed for divorce from Williams on April 17, but according to court records, they have been separated since March 2022.
The news received mixed reactions from social media users. Some sympathized with Strawberry, while others claimed she should not be giving relationship advice to others.
"Poor Shirley... never had a real marriage or relationship from Day 1," one Instagram user wrote under The Jasmine Brand's post about Williams' indictment.
Another commented, "I am praying for Shirley."
"And y'all take relationship advice from this," a third user wrote. "I'll take advice from Patti Stanger and Sierra Gates before her."
According to the indictment, Williams allegedly scammed victims by posing as a successful businessman and promising to help them with their business ventures.
Between 2009 and 2022, Williams allegedly stole property, vehicles, services, money, and goods amounting to more than $750,000 from targets with the help of several co-conspirators.
Williams has been held in jail since his 2022 arrest.
The prosecutor's comments and indictment came months after Strawberry dissed Harvey's marriage to his wife of 16 years, Marjorie Harvey, in a leaked phone call to her estranged husband.
During the private call, which was recorded because Williams was already jailed at the time, Strawberry claimed that Harvey was "scared" of his wife and that Marjorie looked at her husband's house guests as "the help," according to The Sun.
Strawberry also suggested that her boss was in poor health as she claimed Harvey "got winded" when he walked up the stairs of his home.
Strawberry later publicly apologized to Harvey and Marjorie over her comments in the jail call, which was leaked around the time rumors were circulating that the couple's marriage was on the rocks.
"Right here and now, I want to apologize to you and Majorie for what I said," Strawberry said on their radio show. "It was definitely not me trying to add to what you have going on right now."
She added, "I apologize, I make no excuses. I said what I said, and there's no denying it or taking it back."
