MICHAEL STRAHAN – the ex-NFL hero who replaced REGIS PHILBIN on “Live!” – is hiding an ugly past. According to his ex-wife’s shocking testimony during a court hearing, the gap-toothed gridiron great cheated on her and beat her repeatedly, breaking her nose and blackening her eyes.
The 6-foot-5, 255-pound former New York Giants star once punched her full in the face with his balled fist, Jean Strahan testified, and another time he pummeled her so violently that her kidneys were damaged to the point that she urinated blood! The judge hearing the complaint dismissed the claims against Strahan made by his then-wife.
The bombshell revelations could hurt the hulking former defensive end’s future on the popular show, according to an insider.
“Women comprise the majority of the show’s viewers, and they’ll be absolutely stunned to hear about the kind of brutal attacks Michael’s former wife accused him of carrying out,” said the source.
“According to her, he was a monster, and while Michael came across as a great guy while auditioning for Regis’s job, it seems like he has a darker side.”
Now 40, Strahan married Jean, his second wife, in 1999.
They were thought to have an ideal marriage until she hit him with a slew of sensational claims in their bitter 2005 divorce battle.
She accused the Super Bowl champ of ditching her and their twin daughters, who are now 7, to spend time with an alleged mistress in Arizona.
She also claimed he secretly videotaped Jean’s sister while she undressed in a guest bedroom at their New Jersey mansion.
According to divorce papers obtained by The ENQUIRER, Jean claimed the vicious beatings occurred only while the couple was dating and stopped after they wed.
But she testified during a domestic violence court hearing that one of the worst attacks happened at his parents’ home in Germany in Easter 1996.
“He wound up like this and punched me in the middle of the face,” she said, demonstrating a swing with a balled fist.
“He continued to beat me. He punched me in the mouth again, but mostly focused on my body.”
During the divorce battle, Strahan – who’s now engaged to Eddie Murphy’s ex-wife Nicole – vehemently denied ever attacking Jean, and branded her a gold digger.
Celebrity divorce attorney Raoul Felder told The ENQUIRER: “It seems to me that given his contentious divorce, Michael Strahan is a very odd choice to co-host a daytime talk show like ‘Live!’ that’s so popular with women.”
