In a shocking public announcement, Kathy Griffin claimed that ex-hubby Matthew Moline robbed her of $72,000 — but she failed to mention that she held the marriage together for the sake of her TV show.

During a recent interview with CNN's Larry King, the 44-year-old comedienne claimed that Moline, 35, stole cash from her during their five-year marriage.

"My husband, without my knowledge, was sneaking into my wallet when I was asleep in the mornings and taking my ATM cards from my private accounts and withdrawing money."

But even though Kathy was crushed, pals say she remained torn between giving him the boot or holding the marriage together for the second season of her Bravo network show, "My Life on the D-List." Finally, she decided to go ahead with the divorce, but she then attempted a reconciliation with her husband during taping of the second season. Once the season was over, so was the marriage.

The second season is airing now and viewers are getting a firsthand look at the tension in their marriage, but do not know exactly what is causing it and the money-stealing allegations are not mentioned.

"The bitter irony is, Kathy's life is being played out on a reality show, but she experienced a dose of reality that was too painful for her to share with fans," said the insider.

"In the end, she knew she had to go through with the divorce because she'd never be able to trust Matthew again."