Walton Goggins’ Former Mother-in-Law Says Actor ‘Browbeat’ Ex-Wife Leanne Knight Before Tragic Death

White Lotus star Walton Goggins claims he still grieves over the 2004 suicide of his wife Leanne Knight, but his former mother-in-law insists he’s partly to blame for the tragedy!

In an exclusive interview, Leanne’s mom, Peggy Kaun, broke a decades-long silence to accuse Walton of crying crocodile tears over her daughter’s death — and says he doesn’t deserve any sympathy.

Leanne was 37 when she plunged to her death from the 17th floor of a Los Angeles office building, hours after being treated for depression — and just days after serving Walton divorce papers to end their three-year marriage.

Now 54, Walton opened up about Leanne’s suicide last year while shooting season 3 of The White Lotus in Thailand — where he went to come to terms with her death.

He claimed Leanne’s suicide was “really unrecoverable for me” in a 2025 interview with GQ, per Marie Claire.

But Leanne’s mom claims he emotionally abused Leanne, refused her daughter access to the former couple’s finances, hid a previous secret marriage, and cheated on Leanne!

“Our family has not spoken out about Leanne’s death in more than 20 years, but Walt’s interview was very distressing — and meant to draw some sympathy for himself,” Peggy said.

Walton met Leanne while in Alberta filming the Jackie Chan comedy Shanghai Noon in 1999. He proposed following a whirlwind 18-month romance.

They married in 2001, with Leanne moving from her native Canada to L.A. with Walton, who’d just landed his breakout role as loose cannon Det. Shane Vendrell on the FX series The Shield.

But Peggy reveals her daughter, who struggled with anxiety, was abused by the rising star.

“Walt browbeat her, beat her down in verbal confrontations,” she said. “Their home in Los Angeles was like a bachelor pad. Walt wouldn’t allow Leanne to express any of herself in the décor. It was like Leanne disappeared into Walt’s world.”

Then he dropped the bomb that ignited Leanne’s emotional spiral.

“He revealed to Leanne he had been married before — something he never told her about, and that’s when things went south,” Peggy alleged.

After being rocked by news she wasn’t his first wife, Leanne found an open email from a woman Walton was allegedly having an affair with — and Peggy insisted it pushed her daughter over the edge.

The couple entered marriage counseling, according to Peggy. The therapist asked Leanne to put in writing what she wanted from her husband — and Peggy produced the note.

In it, Leanne revealed she had no access to the couple’s funds and was forced to ask for $2,000, plus $500 more each month so she could survive.

Peggy said Walton wrote to her about the counseling, confessing, “The therapist offered tough medicine for me — but these are things I need to hear.”

The sessions ended after just two months, with the therapist urging Leanne to get out of the marriage, according to Peggy.

Leanne slapped Walton with divorce papers, but Peggy says her daughter’s distress was so overwhelming, she took her own life.

Walton went on to marry filmmaker Nadia Conners, and Peggy says while she doesn’t wish him any ill will, she bristles over his public claim to be grief-stricken over Leanne.

“After Leanne’s death, Walt sent us a three-page, rambling letter trying to explain away his shoddy treatment of Leanne, which I found pathetic, and we haven’t been in contact since,” Peggy says.

“I don’t think he grieved. He paid no divorce settlement and started seeing Nadia just months after Leanne’s death. His story of looking for peace for himself is as fake as anything.”