Melissa McKnight’s friend Kelly Phillips described her as “absolutely blindsided” by the end of her marriage to Matt LeBlanc. That characterization appeared in a September 2006 CBS/AP report relaying Phillips’s remarks to People—it was not a direct public statement from McKnight. The couple’s divorce was finalized that month, after LeBlanc filed earlier in 2006.
Who said McKnight was blindsided?
Kelly Phillips, identified in the CBS/AP report as McKnight’s friend, told People: “It was very sudden. She was absolutely blindsided by what transpired.” The report was published on September 21, 2006, as the divorce became final. CBS/AP’s September 2006 report is the contemporary source for the description.
The distinction matters: the account comes from Phillips, not from a direct interview or public statement by McKnight. It establishes how her friend characterized her reaction at the time, but it does not reveal McKnight’s own full account or explain all the circumstances of the marriage’s end.
What happened, and when?
- 2003: LeBlanc and McKnight married in Hawaii, according to the Associated Press report republished by the Los Angeles Times. The September 23, 2006 report described the marriage as lasting a little more than three years.
- January 1, 2006: The divorce petition reportedly listed this as the separation date. RTÉ’s report, which attributed the filing details to Reuters, covered the case. RTÉ’s March 31, 2006 report also said LeBlanc filed for divorce that March.
- September 2006: The divorce was finalized. CBS/AP reported that the couple shared custody of their two-year-old daughter, Marina.
What did LeBlanc say about the marriage later?
In a 2012 retrospective account, LeBlanc discussed stress from his television work and family pressures as factors affecting the marriage. That later perspective is separate from Phillips’s 2006 description of McKnight’s reaction; neither account, on its own, provides a definitive explanation for the divorce. The Standard’s 2012 report covers his reflection.
At the time of the divorce filing, LeBlanc’s spokesman Joe Libonati described the dissolution as amicable and said the former couple remained devoted parents and friends. His statement, quoted by RTÉ, was: “The dissolution is amicable. They remain devoted parents and friends. For the sake of their family, they ask that their privacy be respected at this time.” It records the couple’s public position through their spokesperson, not a full account of either person’s private feelings.
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