
Bert Girigorie is a Charlotte-based marketing executive and founder of G2 Marketing Inc. Best known as Wendy Williams’ first husband, their 1994 marriage lasted five months. Today, he runs a successful digital marketing agency and maintains a private life focused on professional achievement.
When people search for Bert Girigorie, they’re often looking for information about Wendy Williams’ first husband. But reducing his story to a brief celebrity marriage does him a disservice. Girigorie is president of G2 Marketing Inc., a Charlotte-based agency specializing in digital marketing and business growth strategies. His career spans more than three decades in sales and marketing, with a reputation built on strategic thinking rather than tabloid headlines.
The contrast between Girigorie’s private approach and Williams’ public persona tells us something important about character. While his ex-wife built a career on revealing personal details, Girigorie chose to remain unmarried and focus on his career and personal growth after their divorce, dedicating himself to his work as president of G2 Marketing Inc. That choice reflects a man who values substance over spectacle.
Understanding Girigorie means looking past the celebrity connection to see an accomplished African American entrepreneur who’s built legitimate business success. His story matters because it shows there’s more than one path to a meaningful career, and sometimes the quieter path leads to deeper satisfaction.
Bert Girigorie was born on March 13, 1964, in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he was raised in a close-knit family with his sister, Gabrielle, and brother, Bruce. As the middle child, he learned early about balance and compromise, skills that would serve him well in his future career negotiating deals and managing client relationships.
His Christian upbringing provided more than religious instruction. It established values around integrity and work ethic that colleagues would later recognize in his business dealings. Professional endorsements describe him as someone who provides strategic solutions to marketing problems and demonstrates creativity in designing communication channels.
Girigorie attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, a historically black institution that has produced outstanding leaders across various fields. The college’s emphasis on excellence and cultural identity formation gave him both technical business knowledge and connections with future leaders. His education focused on areas aligned with business, marketing, and communication, creating the foundation for his later career trajectory.
The Morehouse experience mattered beyond academics. It connected him with a network of ambitious peers and exposed him to role models who’d achieved success through merit and determination. These formative years shaped his understanding that professional credibility comes from consistent performance, not publicity stunts.
Girigorie’s professional journey began as an account executive at Kiss FM from 1991 to 1996, where he honed his skills in media sales. Radio in the early nineties was transitioning, with hip-hop and urban formats reshaping the industry. Working at a New York radio station during this period meant navigating rapidly changing markets and learning to connect advertisers with evolving audiences in a landscape influenced by media personalities like Wendy Williams.
His five years at Kiss FM weren’t just about selling airtime. They taught him how the media works from the inside, how to build relationships with clients facing pressure to show ROI, and how to deliver results when everyone’s watching the numbers. These skills would prove invaluable when he later launched his own venture.
In 2010, Girigorie founded G2 Marketing Inc., utilizing his decades of experience to help businesses improve branding, digital strategies, and revenue development. The timing mattered. Digital marketing was exploding, and small to medium-sized businesses needed guidance in navigating social media, SEO, and online advertising. Many agencies focused on big corporate clients, but Girigorie saw an opportunity to help companies that couldn’t afford massive marketing budgets.
G2 Marketing’s approach blends traditional wisdom with digital innovation. Rather than chasing every new platform or trend, the agency helps clients identify which strategies actually drive revenue for their specific situation. The company specializes in digital marketing, catering to various brands and helping them achieve their marketing goals through innovative strategies and commitment to client success.
What sets Girigorie apart is his commitment to measurable results. Many marketing agencies sell creativity and vision, but he focuses on what moves the needle for business owners who need to make payroll next month. This practical approach has earned G2 Marketing respect within Charlotte’s business community.
Colleagues and clients describe someone who listens carefully, asks probing questions, and designs strategies based on specific business needs rather than generic templates. His professional success stems from solving real problems, not chasing accolades or media attention.
Girigorie met Wendy Williams during their time at Kiss FM, when she was gaining fame as a radio personality. Their paths crossed in the New York radio scene of the early 1990s, when Williams was building her reputation for controversial interviews on the Wendy Williams Show and no-holds-barred commentary. The two dated for approximately two years before marrying in 1994.
On the surface, they seemed like an unlikely match. Williams thrived on attention and controversy, while Girigorie preferred working behind the scenes. She was becoming famous for revealing intimate details on air; he valued privacy and discretion. These differences initially created attraction, as opposites sometimes do, but they would eventually contribute to the marriage’s collapse.
Their marriage lasted only about five months before separation, with divorce finalized in 1995. The brevity speaks to fundamental incompatibility rather than one dramatic incident. When Girigorie discussed the marriage years later, he focused on behavior changes rather than assigning blame.
In a 2019 interview, Girigorie described Williams’ behavior as “bizarre,” saying she turned into a different person and he didn’t understand what was going on or what her motivations were. He suggested that substance abuse played a role in the collapse of their marriage, though Williams has publicly admitted to battling addiction during her radio days.
What’s notable is Girigorie’s restraint in discussing the relationship. Despite opportunities to capitalize on Williams’ fame by sharing salacious details, he’s offered only minimal public commentary. He’s never publicly disparaged Williams, a testament to his private nature and professionalism. This dignified approach contrasts sharply with many celebrity divorces that become tabloid fodder.
The marriage represents a brief detour in Girigorie’s life rather than its defining chapter. While Williams built a career partly by discussing her personal struggles publicly, he chose the opposite path. Both approaches are valid, but they reflect fundamentally different values about privacy, dignity, and what matters in the long term.
Following the divorce, Girigorie made a decisive choice. Rather than pursuing celebrity connections or leveraging his brief marriage for attention, he returned to Charlotte and focused on building something lasting. He continued to live in Charlotte, North Carolina, dedicating himself to his work and remaining active in the field of sales and marketing.
The years between leaving Kiss FM in 1996 and founding G2 Marketing in 2010 likely involved various roles and experiences that refined his expertise. By the time he launched his own agency, he’d accumulated enough knowledge, connections, and credibility to succeed as an entrepreneur. Starting a business requires not just skills but also confidence that comes from a proven track record.
His business philosophy emphasizes substance over flash, much like the approach of a seasoned media personality. While many marketing agencies promise viral campaigns and instant results, G2 Marketing focuses on sustainable strategies that compound over time. This approach attracts clients who want partners rather than vendors—businesses seeking someone who understands their challenges and delivers consistent value.
Estimators place Girigorie’s net worth in the range of seven hundred thousand to three million dollars as of 2025, based on his entrepreneurial success and longstanding career in marketing. While these figures lack verification, they align with what a successful agency owner in Charlotte might accumulate over 15 years. More important than the specific number is what it represents: financial independence earned through professional achievement rather than celebrity association.
His choice to remain unmarried after the divorce deserves respect rather than speculation. Some people find fulfillment in romantic partnerships; others prioritize career, personal growth, or simply prefer solitude. There’s no evidence Girigorie has lacked meaningful relationships—only that he’s kept them private, which is his right.
The privacy extends to social media and public presence. While he maintains professional profiles, he doesn’t seek followers or post personal updates for public consumption. In an era where many people measure worth by engagement metrics and public validation, his approach feels almost countercultural. It suggests someone comfortable with who he is, unbothered by others’ opinions.
As of 2026, Girigorie continues to lead G2 Marketing from Charlotte. The agency serves clients across various industries, helping them navigate an increasingly complex digital landscape. While specific client names and projects remain confidential—another sign of his discretion—the business appears stable and successful based on its longevity and his professional reputation.
The contrast with Wendy Williams’ recent struggles makes his story more poignant. While she’s faced health challenges including a diagnosis of aphasia and frontotemporal dementia, along with financial and legal difficulties reported in the media, Girigorie has maintained stability and privacy. The comparison isn’t meant to judge Williams, who’s dealt with significant health issues, but rather to highlight different life trajectories.
His journey offers lessons about building identity separate from celebrity connections. Many people who briefly enter the spotlight struggle to return to normal life. They chase the attention they once had or define themselves by that fleeting fame. Girigorie did the opposite. He treated his marriage as one chapter in a longer story, then wrote subsequent chapters focused on what he could control and build.
There’s something admirable about refusing to leverage a celebrity connection for gain. In a culture obsessed with fame and visibility, choosing substance over spectacle requires confidence and self-knowledge. Girigorie’s career proves you can succeed without constant self-promotion or mining personal relationships for content.
For young professionals, particularly African American entrepreneurs in marketing and business, his story provides an alternative model. Success doesn’t require fame, viral moments, or constant visibility. It comes from mastering your craft, serving clients well, and building a reputation through consistent results. The quieter path might not generate headlines like those of a talk show host, but it often leads to sustainable achievement and personal satisfaction.
Bert Girigorie’s story matters because it challenges assumptions about success and relevance. In a media environment that rewards visibility above all else, he’s built a meaningful career precisely by avoiding the spotlight. His approach won’t work for everyone—some businesses and personalities thrive on publicity—but it demonstrates there’s more than one way to build a life.
His relationship with Wendy Williams will always be part of his biography. There’s no erasing a marriage, however brief. But defining someone solely by their most famous relationship, such as being Wendy Williams’ ex-husband, diminishes their full humanity. Girigorie is a successful businessman, a skilled marketer, a college-educated professional who’s built something lasting, despite being the ex-husband of a prominent media personality. The marriage is one fact among many, not the only fact that matters.
The digital marketing landscape continues evolving, and professionals like Girigorie who’ve navigated multiple industry shifts bring a valuable perspective, much like navigating the complexities of the early 1990s media scene. His 30-plus years spanning radio’s transformation, the internet revolution, social media’s rise, and now AI’s emergence give him insights that younger marketers lack. That institutional knowledge, combined with a willingness to adapt, explains his continued relevance.
Perhaps the most important lesson from his story is about dignity and discretion. In a world where oversharing has become normalized and privacy is often dismissed as having something to hide, Girigorie models a different approach. Some things matter more than public validation. Some achievements don’t need announcement. Some parts of life, especially personal life, deserve protection from scrutiny.
His success proves you can respect your own boundaries, maintain privacy, and still build professional credibility. You don’t need to reveal everything about your personal life, engage in every controversy, or court constant attention to matter in your field. Sometimes the most powerful position is one of quiet confidence, where your work speaks louder than your words ever could.