Supreme Court associate justice Clarence Thomas has been married twice, but not much is known about his first wife Kathy Ambush despite Thomas’ role on the highest court in the land.
Who is Clarence Thomas’ first wife, Kathy Ambush?
Ambush was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on June 6, 1950 to Nelson William Ambush, a dental technician and Shigao Gladys Sato. She has four biological siblings—Benjamin, Stephen, June, and Karen– and two half siblings– Sydney and Valarie.
She went to school at Marion Central Catholic school then to Anna Maria College, a women’s college in Worcester to study sociology.
How did Ambush meet Clarence Thomas.
Clarence Thomas met his first wife while they were in college. Thomas was a student at the College of Holy Cross at the same time Ambush was attending the women’s college.
(Photo by Clarence Thomas via PBS News)
The couple married on June 5,1971 at the All Saints Episcopal Church in Worcester, Massachusetts after Thomas graduated. Their son Jamal Adeen Thomas was born two years later in 1973. They then relocated to New Haven, Connecticut, where Thomas went to law school at Yale.
Why did Ambush file for divorce from Thomas.
During their marriage Thomas allegedly had an affair with Lillian McEwen, a Senate Judiciary Committee staffer. Thomas also had money troubles. So, he spent most of his time drinking alone or with friends. He admitted to having a drinking problem in the early 80s and said he used his student loan money to hang out at bars.
McEwen also confirmed Thomas’ drinking problem during their affair. She told the NY Post Thomas liked to “drink pretty much anything that had an alcoholic content.”
Ambush and Thomas separated in 1981 and finalized their divorce in 1984.
What happened to Clarence Thomas’ first wife?
Very little is know publicly about Kathy Ambush who lives a low-key life. We do know that she remarried to Douglas Allen Smith and currently resides in Richmond, Virginia.
According to her LinkedIn page, she is a retired professional with “40 proud years of experience in public relations serving the nonprofit, corporate, political and education sectors as an executive administrator, fundraiser, grant writer, speech writer, program manager, event planner and community relations manager.”
It’s unclear whether she has any other children from her second marriage.
