Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon’s Marriage Has Been Affected by His Ongoing Legal Issues

For almost as long as he's been a public figure, WWE CEO Vince McMahon has been a pretty controversial person. He was a die-hard supporter for former President Trump, and has been outspoken on a host of strange, sometimes offensive views.

McMahon's legal battles, including him being investigated by the board of WWE over a hush payment made to cover up an alleged affair, has led some to wonder if Vince and his wife Linda McMahon are still together. Here's what we know.

In November 2024, Linda was selected by President Donald Trump as his pick for Secretary of Education. At the same time, her legal team confirmed she officially separated from Vince.

Linda's legal counsel, Laura Brevetti, confirmed in a piece for The Washington Post that their separation, though she didn't give any further details.

The split was confirmed two years after reports for years regarding Vince and Linda's relationship being more for publicity's sake than for romance surfaced. In a June 16, 2022 episode of Wrestling Observer Radio, Dave Meltzer — one of the leading voices in professional wrestling journalism — said, "Technically, [Vince and Linda] are married. [...] They haven't been together in a long, long time, though." However, Linda has yet to file for divorce.

The two first got married in 1966, and have two children, Stephanie and Shane, both of whom were part of WWE at one point. Stephanie resigned as the the principal owner of WWE after it was which was sold to Endeavor Group Holdings.

In 2022, the board of WWE investigated McMahon over a $3 million payment he paid to cover up an alleged affair. According to reporting in The Wall Street Journal, an agreement was struck in January 2022, which was designed to prevent the woman, who had worked as a paralegal for WWE, from discussing the relationship or making statements that were critical of the CEO.

A spokesperson for WWE said that the company is cooperating with the board's investigation and that the relationship between McMahon and the woman was consensual. In January 2025, Variety reported that the case was settled after Vince "agreed to cease-and-desist from violating those provisions, pay a $400,000 civil penalty and reimburse WWE $1.33 million pursuant to Section 304(a) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act." He confirmed the case was settled via X (formerly Twitter) in January 2025.

In addition to serving as CEO of WWE, McMahon also worked in the administration of Donald Trump, serving as the head of the Small Business Administration.

In addition to the hush money payment, the report also surfaced other allegations of misconduct from women who had worked at WWE. Nondisclosure pacts had been signed in all of these incidents, so there aren't many details available. McMahon has already weathered plenty in his role as head of the organization, but this board investigation may be the most serious threat to his tenure yet.

The investigation began in April, just a month before Vince's daughter announced that she would be stepping away from her role inside WWE in order to focus more on her family.

“WWE is a lifelong legacy for me and I look forward to returning to the company that I love after taking this time to focus on my family,” she said at the time.

McMahon has been running the company since 1982 when he took over from his father, who was also named Vince McMahon. Under the current CEO, WWE has ballooned in popularity and become a sport of interest around the country. What's more, WWE has launched several credible movie stars who have gone on to have great careers even after they left the sport behind. As McMahon faces these allegations, the future of the world's biggest wrestling organization remains uncertain.