Is WWE Founder Vince McMahon Still Married to Wife Linda? Update Amid Hush Money Scandal

Vince McMahon is known for founding the World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) but less is known about his more than 50-year marriage with his wife, Linda McMahon.

Is Vince McMahon Still Married?

Vince and Linda are technically still married but reportedly separated in 2022 after Linda learned of Vince’s alleged three-year-long affair with a former employee named Janet Grant.

Vince hinted at the split news when he referred to Linda as “my wife at the time” during a 2021 interview with Pat McAfee.

Did Vince McMahon Cheat on His Wife Linda?

Despite their decades-long marriage, Vince admittedly engaged in numerous extramarital affairs, bragging about his sexual appetite in a 2001 interview with Playboy Magazine.

"Not necessarily faithful. I probably lied to myself, thinking she knew who I was when we got married. The wild guy. But I never, ever threw anything in her face. I was discreet,” he told the outlet about his marriage with Linda. “And Linda never suffered from a lack of attention, physical or emotional. But one day she asked me, point-blank, 'Are you having an affair with so-and-so?' And I’ve never lied to her. ‘Yes.’ It crushed her. Then she asked, 'What about such-and-such?' ‘Yes.’ It went on. More names. I said, ‘Yes, yes, and yes.’”

The WWE founder also engaged in numerous onscreen affairs with wrestlers such as Dawn Marie, Torrie Wilson, Mae Young and Sable.

Who Is Janet Grant?

In Touch confirmed Janet filed a lawsuit against Vince in January 2024, where she accused him of abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking. In her complaint, she claimed she initially got in touch with the WWE founder when she was looking for a job.

She began working as an “administrator-coordinator” in the WWE’s legal department and alleged that Vince “pushed” her into a physical relationship, which she eventually “succumbed” to, according to court documents obtained by People. In the lawsuit, she described acts of “extreme cruelty” which included an alleged threesome with Vince and WWE executive John Laurinaitis, during which she said Vince defecated on her.

Janet claimed she was “ordered” to keep quiet about the affair and said she was let go from the company after Linda found out about the relationship in 2022. Janet signed an NDA after her firing in “exchange for payments,” which Vince reportedly stopped making.

That same year, Vince voluntarily stepped down from his position as CEO after WWE launched an investigation into allegations that he paid Janet $3 million to stay quiet about their affair.

A rep for Vince has called the lawsuit “replete with lies, obscene made-up instances that never occurred and a vindictive distortion of the truth,” and said, “[Vince] will vigorously defend himself,” according to People.

Vince and Lisa McMahon’s Relationship

Vince and Lisa married in 1966, first meeting as teenagers in high school. During their marriage, the pair welcomed two children, a son named Shane in 1970, and a daughter named Stephanie in 1976.

Linda played a major role in WWE, serving as CEO from 1997 to 2009. She left the position to pursue a career in public office. In 2016, Linda was chosen by Donald Trump to serve as the administrator of the Small Business Administration during his presidency. Her position ran from February 2017 to April 2019.

"Linda has a tremendous background and is widely recognised as one of the country’s top female executives advising businesses around the globe,” Trump told WSJ in December 2016. "Linda is going to be a phenomenal leader and champion for small businesses and unleash America’s entrepreneurial spirit all across the country."