Television personality Julie Chen has been the face of reality series Big Brother since 2000 when it first premiered. With her classy and calm demeanor, she’s guided fans of the show through each twist and turn the seasons takes. While Chen is well accustomed to questioning the housemates on their drama and tension within the house, she’d been the one in the hot seat lately. When Season 20 of Big Brother concluded last fall, a scandal erupted in Chen’s personal life that shocked her longtime fans. After that, the long-term future of the host’s Big Brother gig seemed a little uncertain, according to Yahoo! News .
Chen’s husband of 15 years, Les Moonves, was accused of sexual misconduct by not one, but six different women. The alleged victims shared their story in a shocking expose in a July 2018 edition of the New Yorker . Moonves, who was an executive for CBS, had no choice but to resign from his post. The network also decided to do away with his hefty $125 million severance package four months after his resignation occurred.
1 MONTH #BB21 ? pic.twitter.com/pWdBhOnkoA
— Julie Chen Moonves (@JCMoonves) May 26, 2019
Their reasoning was that he had failed to cooperate with the investigation into his past actions and committed “willful and material misfeasance.”
Even though her family’s name was being dragged through the mud and her husband’s name had been tarnished, Chen never wavered in her support to him. She has made it perfectly clear that she plans to continue to stand by him and doesn’t believe the accusations against him. Her stance has gained her a lot of online criticism.
“I have known my husband Leslie Moonves since the late ’90s, and I have been married to him for almost 14 years. Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband, and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. I fully support my husband and stand by him and his statement.”
Moonves has always denied that he ever engaged in a sexual interaction that wasn’t consensual.
Shortly after the scandal involving her husband took place, Chen announced that she would be leaving her role at The Talk . However, she’s decided to stick with Big Brother , at least for now. While her contract is good to go for this upcoming season, there’s reportedly been nothing set in stone for future seasons.
Chen and Moonves share one child together, a 9-year-old named Charlie. Prior to getting married to Chen in 2004, Moonves was married to Nancy Wiesenfeld from 1978 to 2004. They had three children together, Sara, Michael, and Adam Moonves, all of whom are now adults.
