Who Is Jim Townsend? Everything To Know About Steve Harvey's Wife Marjory Harvey's Ex Drug Kingpin Husband
He's airing some ancient dirty laundry.
s_bukley / shutterstock We all know someone (perhaps it is ourselves) that has that slimy ex who just won't go away. And Steve Harvey's wife Marjorie has a doozy.
Who is Jim Townsend, Marjorie Harvey's ex-husband?
Jim Townsend, has written a memoir about his marriage to Marjorie, their run-ins with the law, and all the dirty laundry that a sane person would keep under wraps. Charming.
He claims to have written two-thirds of the book while he was in prison on drug-related charges. And he's blabbing to anyone who will listen, saying, "I have no allegiance to Marjorie, she showed her hand. I'm going... tell my story. It don't matter [if she knows about it]."
His bravado is already exhausting, and I'm not even the target of his trash talking. So, who is Jim Townsend? Here are all the details about Marjorie's ex-husband, their past, and how it's affecting her marriage to Steve Harvey.
Who is Jim Townsend? He had a lengthy past involved in crime.
Back in the early 1990s, now 54-year-old Marjorie Harvey was married to Jim Townsend, a drug kingpin. The FBI and DEA began investigating Marjorie as they reportedly suspected she had a role in her husband's drug ring.
At the time, authorities told Townsend "his wife would be arrested, as the agents believed they had substantial evidence of her own illegal activities" if he didn't cooperate with them. Townsend was indicted for attempting to buy 40 kilos of cocaine. He was sentenced to life in prison. He served 26 years of his sentence and was released in January 2017 after being pardoned by President Obama.
Marjorie was never charged with a crime. She divorced him less than five years into his sentence. Townsend said he was going to share all of the explosive secrets of his and Marjorie and their marriage. “I’m pouring my heart out. No one knows what happened but me and Marjorie," he said.
Steve Harvey sold some houses ahead of the alleged divorce.
In May 2019, when Townsend revealed he was writing a tell-all book, Steve Harvey allegedly began preparing for a divorce from Marjorie. Since January 2019, he has put four of his Texas homes on the market and sold two for a bit over $2 million.
Sources close to Harvey said that he has also transferred ownership of another Texas property from his and Marjorie's names into just his name. The source said, “Steve learned a lesson from his drawn-out divorce from [second wife] Mary. It took him years to get their properties into his name."
Are Steve and Marjorie Harvey divorcing?
Steve and Marjorie Harvey have been dogged by divorce rumors throughout their 14-year marriage. Instead of getting annoyed by this, they're having fun with it.
During a press conference in the fall of 2018, Steve said, “I’m sick of it. They act like I don’t have family. They act like my kids can’t read. They don’t care. They just go out to destroy people with no facts behind it.”
The couple took to social media to shut down the rumors that have been circulating. They made a silly, tongue in cheek video. Steve's son Broderick filmed them. He told them he heard they were getting a divorce. Steve and Marjorie look at one another and laugh before sharing back and forth banter.
It looks like they're still going strong.
Based on Marjorie's Instagram and how she has "Wife to the One and Only Steve Harvey" in her bio, it appears the two are far from being on the rocks. In fact, she frequently posts photos of Steve with their children and grandchildren.
In one video, Steve is seen giving their grandson, Ezra, a bath. In another, he's teaching their other grandson, BJ, how to ride a bike, while BJ wears a Spider-Man costume.
And they've been spotted out together.
It appears as though Steve and Marjorie are not letting Jim Townsend's alleged memoir or the divorce rumors slow them down. After the story broke of Townsend's tell-all, the couple spent that weekend enjoying the festivities at the Kentucky Derby.
They celebrated Marjorie's birthday together.
A few months later, Marjorie posted a photo on her Instagram of her and Steve celebrating her 55th birthday! The two, accompanied by their celebrity friends, as well as Marjorie's parents, children, and granddaughter, celebrated in Cancun, Mexico.
When he introduced his wife to the crowd, Steve Harvey said, “Hey listen, y’all. This is a celebration of something God gave to me. He gave me the chick of my dreams, and so I’m celebrating her birthday today. She thanked her husband, saying, “Thank you all, so much. I appreciate it. And thank you, my love. You all could have gone anywhere, done anything. But to come here and celebrate with me, it means the world to me, really... I got the best husband in the world, thank you.”
So, it doesn't look like Jim Townsend's past has come back to haunt Marjorie and Steve after all.
Amy Lamare is a Los Angeles based freelance writer covering entertainment, pop culture, beauty, fashion, fitness, technology, and the intersection of technology, business, and philanthropy. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook.