Julie Chen Moonves revealed the keys to maintaining a strong marriage six years after her husband, Leslie “Les” Moonves, was accused of sexual misconduct.
“When you know you’re right, don’t dig in,” the “Big Brother” host told Page Six exclusively at Us Weekly’s Reality Stars of the Year event in Los Angeles last Thursday.
“It’s better just to have a forgiving heart and think, ‘I’m gonna take a deep breath.’”
Chen Moonves, 54, made sure to add, “Never yell.”
“Oh, here’s the best thing,” she went on. “If you’re having a disagreement … here’s what you say to your spouse: ‘Because it makes me happy.’”
Chen Moonves and Moonves — the former chairman and chief executive officer of CBS Corporation — wed in December 2004. They share a 15-year-old son named Charlie.
In July 2018, a bombshell exposé alleged that Moonves, now 75, had engaged in sexual assault while heading the network.
Six women told the New Yorker at the time that Moonves had forcibly kissed and touched them, with almost all of them claiming he intimidated them to keep them silent and even fired them if they rejected his alleged advances.
In response, Moonves — who was married to Nancy Wiesenfeld for more than 25 years before he moved on with Chen Moonves — recognized “that there were times decades ago when [he] may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances” but denied “any characterization of ‘sexual assault,’ intimidation or retaliatory action.”
“Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely,” he continued. “But I always understood and respected — and abided by the principle — that ‘no’ means ‘no,’ and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone’s career.”
Chen Moonves stood by her man, posting via X (formerly Twitter) shortly after, “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 behind him and his statement.”
However, in September of that same year, six more women came forward to accuse Moonves of sexual and physical abuse, including several who claimed to the same outlet that he had forced them to perform oral sex on him.
Though he acknowledged some of the encounters, Moonves claimed they were consensual. Still, he immediately stepped down from his role at CBS.
A rep for Chen Moonves — who was forced to leave “The Talk” due to Moonves’ alleged behavior — told Page Six in December 2018 that she remained “committed to her marriage” and that the scandal had “drawn Julie and her husband as well as their entire family closer than ever.”
Meanwhile, a source close to the TV personality — who found God and turned to Christianity during this time — insisted to us that “Les managed to convince Julie that none of this was true, that he was being screwed over.”
Because the couple met and developed a romance in the CBS workplace, our source argued, “Obviously, that shows that Les liked to fish in the company pond.”
