Steve Harvey Lost A Ton Of Money In His Divorce From Mary Lee Harvey

Steve Harvey has been making people laugh as a stand-up comedian since the 1980s and has amassed millions of dollars over the course of his long career. Many know him as the former host of "It's Showtime at the Apollo" and the current host of "Family Feud." He married his first wife, Marcia Harvey, in 1980 while he was still trying to break into his comedy career. When they divorced in 1994, Steve was not yet the mega-millionaire he is today. However, after he married his second wife, Mary Lee Harvey, in 1996, he was on his way to becoming a huge television personality.

After his first sitcom, "Me and the Boys," was canceled after just one season, Steve went on to star in the popular show "The Steve Harvey Show" as a high school music teacher. He only went up from there and has hosted a daytime talk show, as well as Miss Universe pageants. When asked about what motivates the multi-talented mogul, he shared, "I've been homeless before. I'm running from that — full-gait running from that ever happening to me again. That memory is vivid. There's not a day that goes by that I don't recognize that," according to the Los Angeles Times. Unfortunately, when he split from Mary in 2005, he lost everything he had worked so hard for, and it left him practically broke.

Divorces can get seriously messy, especially if you're a millionaire star like Steve Harvey. During an appearance on the podcast "Club Shay Shay," Steve revealed that he had made over $30 million doing the "Kings of Comedy" tour but ended up with only $1,700 to his name after his marriage with Mary Lee Harvey ended. When asked what happened, he responded, "It's called a divorce. I got jumped on, but it was even before the divorce." 

While he didn't name who scammed him, Steve also shared that someone close to him was taking money out of his bank account. "I was writing checks to the government for seven years, signing the tax checks, giving them to turn in," he explained. However, the individual was taking the money for themselves and he later realized he owed the government "seven years of unpaid taxes." During his divorce, he stated that millions of dollars were withdrawn from his account as well. "I was in a world of trouble, man. When I looked up, I had $1,700," Steve shared.

Following their divorce, Mary claimed Steve took their son Wynton from her and left her with nothing when in fact, she was given three homes, $40,000 per month until March 2009, and $1.5 million on top of that, per the Daily News. Mary was ordered by a judge to refrain from talking about her divorce but after speaking out about Steve yet again, she found herself in jail.

Mary Lee Harvey was given a gag order after her divorce from Steve Harvey. However, when she violated it, she was arrested in 2013 and put in jail for 30 days, as reported by Fox 4. "I didn't violate any court orders. This is about 'You're not supposed to be talking to anybody about your divorce.' That's what they're saying. I'm like, this is America," Mary stated. "Am I angry? Yes. I missed six years of my son's life, and I can't get those years back," she added.

Even 12 years later, Mary claimed that the divorce had left her devastated and sued Steve for $60 million, per E! News. In the court documents, Mary stated that she had been suicidal and had to self-medicate after their contentious divorce. She had also previously claimed that Steve still owed her $50 million in the divorce settlement. As reported by Entertainment Tonight, the suit was thrown out. "The frivolous lawsuit was dismissed by the Judge without further leave to amend," Steve's lawyer, Brandon R. Williams, stated. Steve is now married to Marjorie Harvey, and despite rumors of there being trouble in paradise, he has stated, "We're fine. Lord have mercy."