Gary Owen’s Birthday Post Towards Twins Backfires as Fans Are Shamed Over Non-Existent Relationship Between Him and Kendra Duke’s Kids

Comedian Gary Owen took a moment to wish his youngest sons a glad first birthday, but his heartfelt words were squandered when fans criticised him for his strained relationship with the kids from his first marriage.

In early 2023, rumors began to emerge that the 49-year-old comedian was expecting twins following a difficult divorce from ex-wife Kenya Duke.

In May 2024, while appearing on Shannon Sharpe’s podcast Club Shay Shay, Owen finally confirmed that he and his recent fiancée, Brianna Johnson, had welcomed two recent treasures into their family — “One white. One black.”

On July 14, Owen took to Instagram to wish his twins, Royal Blu and Rome Bohdi Owens, on their first birthday. In true Gary Owen style, he took a comedic approach to the birthday message, writing, “Happy 1st birthday to my boys. I’m still trying to figure out how I got twins and one looks like @joeyb_9 and the other like @cj7stroud 😂😂. You never know what you’re gonna get when you have mixed kids. #RoRo #OldAssDaddy #Twins”

The caption was accompanied by photos of his sons, CJ Stroud and Joe Burrow, dressed as little football players.

Friends rushed to the comments section to send their like to the young couple.

“Such a sweet friend! Congratulations and happy birthday, little one,” wrote model and talk show host Claudia Jordan.

“They’re adorable! Happy first birthday to the twins!” wrote an excited fan.

However, many fans were either confused that the beloved comedian had recently had children or offended that his older children had not received the identical support.

“It’s none of my business but… who’s the mom? We need answers. You know you can’t just show up at the black house without tea lol but they’re adorable,” one fan commented.

Another commenter said: “Holy shit, now we know why his other kids stopped talking to him. It just came out of nowhere.”

“Just don’t do Brian McKnight stuff with the other kids,” one other comment read.

A fourth person wrote: “That’s why she divorced him! Wow,” while one other dissatisfied fan said: “I swear you men have all the privileges… you can start a new family and a new life with a younger woman like your first wife doesn’t matter… meanwhile your ex may never marry again because she’s older… oh well. Congrats, regardless.”

Many of Owen’s fans got here to his defense, nonetheless, noting that the comedian not only admitted that he had grow to be a father to twins, but in addition that he was still looking for contact together with his older children.

“You must not have listened to the interview with Shannon Sharpe where he talked about the twins. He didn’t mention how cute they are though,” a fan commented.

“This is not Brian’s situation,” the fan stated, silencing Brian McKnight comparisons from critics within the comments section. “He really wants a relationship with his other kids and they don’t. He tried. Brian said FTK and started over. It’s not the same.”

A 3rd person chimed in: “He clearly still talks about his adoration of his ADULT children from his previous wife. The man can move on. He’s been divorced for THREE years now.”

A fourth defender wrote: “Y’all are crazy…. The kids don’t want anything to do with him, he’s divorced, ohh ok, despite his past… can’t he just move on with his life? People grow apart, life moves on!!! I’m sure he’s made mistakes, but at this point he’s not in this relationship anymore. Is he supposed to be depressed and sad? How do we know he hasn’t been through all that? Mind your own business, WE DON’T KNOW ANYTHING!!!!!”

There were also a number of individuals who approached Owen’s family drama in a comedic way.

“Okkkkuuuuurrr… Kids won’t talk, I’M MAKING NEW ONE… BabyDaddy goals,” one fan wrote, while one other said, “My guy said F his old family. Now he has a new one.”

Gary Owen has opened up about his strained relationship together with his children with ex-wife Kenya Duke: Austin, 23, and Kennedy, 21. Kenya also has a son, Emilio, from a previous relationship, whom Owen adopted. The comedian reportedly hasn’t spoken to his children in three years.

Owen and Duke were together for 23 years before divorcing in 2021. When the couple split, Owen says the youngsters stopped contacting him. Owen believes the undeniable fact that the youngsters came upon concerning the divorce from TMZ can have played a task within the rift between them. However, Duke believes Owen is making things worse by continuing to debate their personal drama, especially regarding the youngsters, within the media. He says the comedian “doesn’t respect their boundaries” and that’s why they need nothing to do with him.

Talking to Shannon Sharpe about how wonderful his little ones are, Owen said, “What also sucks is that my kids… don’t know them very well,” Sharpe said. “They have no relationship with them, and I don’t want them to know them when they’re 4 or 5.”