How might one explain Howard Stern? Yes, he is a refreshing change from the typical, politically correct figure, and he provides humor and sex for late night audiences who are growing weary of Leno and Letterman. And while Howard Stern, shock jock turned television host, is more on the same wavelength as a Jerry Springer than a late night comic, Stern has always claimed--like Jerry--that his show is just an act.
The idea that Howard Stern could come close--but not too close--to naked women on his television show, might have created the impression that this was just an act after all. He would say things that any other husband could not get away with, and it was okay, because it was all an act. His integrity and sense of honesty was intact, because he could look and not touch, even if he was standing just an inch away. Of course, that idea would not sit well with all, but in the world of Howard Stern, everything was copacetic. That is, until his wife left him.
It might have been, as with many couples, that the pair divorced for a variety of reasons and that it had nothing to do with his untoward behavior. Still, the fact that he was married for many years, despite his lewd comments, gave him credibility. He was married and because he maintained that he was a faithful, it gave him a dual persona. People would think "Howard is all right. He speaks his mind. So what." But with a single Stern, the picture changes. He is no better than any other dirty old man now. At least that is the perception.
While many speculate about the breakup--as who would stay married to a man who ogles other women every day on the air--Stern maintains that the separation had nothing to do with his on screen behavior. He said: " I take most of the blame because I'm a workaholic, and when I'm not working I'm hiding in my basement trying to recover, and I've pretty much hidden from life. I don't think it's easy to be married to me " ("Not-so-private" 68).