'It ruined my life': Derek Chauvin's ex-wife Kellie breaks silence over his conviction 3 years after George Floyd killing
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: After keeping quiet for over three years, Derek Chauvin's ex-wife finally spoke out in support of the disgraced officer's appeal of George Floyd's murder conviction. Kellie Chauvin filed for divorce, adopted a new name, and left the state of Minnesota after the Minneapolis cop knelt on helpless Floyd's neck for nine and a half minutes.
Kellie, 48, a former beauty queen, has been in the background ever since the May 2020 killing that caused a national race turmoil and branded Derek as the face of police brutality. Speaking to Daily Mail recently, she said, "Have I been in contact with him, no. I've moved on." The mother-of-two is subtly reestablishing herself in the quiet Wisconsin suburb.
READ MORE
'It ruined my life. But I'm doing good'
Despite severing all relations with Derek, 46, Kellie said that she has been unable to resume her work as a realtor or obtain other employment due to threats and her concern over being found out. "It ruined my life. But I'm doing good," she added. "It's just something that you have to deal with. I don't know how you found me, this isn't even my house."
Floyd, a father-of-five, 46, was shown in a bystander video begging, "I can't breathe," while being handcuffed and pushed face-down on a Minneapolis street. He was being arrested on suspicion of handing in a bogus $20 bill. After a March 2021 trial heard testimony about Derek ignoring cries from witnesses to lift his knee, he was sentenced to 22 and a half years in prison for unintentional second and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. However, the lawyers for the shaved-head bully said in an appeals court in January 2023 that the unusual security measures in the courtroom and the desire for vengeance among the public forced jurors to deliver guilty verdicts.
Kellie supports ex-husband Derek Chauvin's request for retrial
If his lawyers are successful in reversing his conviction, Derek still faces 21 years in prison for depriving Floyd of his civil rights after pleading guilty in a separate federal case. However, when asked if she supported her incarcerated ex's request for a retrial, Kellie answered firmly, "I mean, most definitely."
As reported by Daily Mail, the mother-of-two feels the trial was unfair. She was less open about the facts of Floyd's terrible death and whether she believed Derek, whom she had previously called a "softie," was racist. "I think you're trying to get into some questions that I don't want to answer," she said, retreating inside the four-bedroom house where she lives with one of her grown-up sons from a previous marriage. "I'm sorry, I can't say more."
Kellie, a former Mrs Minnesota America pageant winner, earlier practiced radiology at the Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis where Floyd was declared dead on May 25, 2020.
