In a recent Washington Post interview, Gasby, 64, explained his romance with Alex Lerner, 53. He first announced their relationship last December on the Facebook page he shares with Smith, 69, the former model and restaurateur, who became the second black woman to snag the cover of Mademoiselle in 1976. And he is now sharing additional details.
According to the report, Lerner and Gasby met at a bar in the Hamptons in 2017 and became fast friends. While the divorcee and mother of three “didn’t want to go out with a married man,” she said she had a realization while having breakfast with both Gasby and Smith one day.
“This is not a man cheating on his wife,” she said of Gasby, who’s been married to Smith for 26 years. “What I admire about him is that he takes care of her.”
Since her realization, Lerner, of Manhattan, has also been taking care of Smith, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s six years ago. She visits her frequently at her and Gasby’s East Hampton home, where she has her own room.
Although Gasby has told Smith about Lerner, he said it doesn’t seem to register. He’s also told Dana Smith, his 32-year-old daughter from a previous marriage, and she approves.
“When he told me,” Dana Smith said , “I was like, ‘Thank God. I'm happy.’”
Some people online, however, have not been as supportive.
“You don’t bring your mistress in the house where your WIFE lives,” one wrote online, according to The Washington Post. “She’s not dead.”
On Monday, Gasby took to Facebook to respond to the critics.
“I only wish someone in your immediate family has Alzheimer’s so you can see feel and experience the pain of millions of people across this country so you can know first hand what it’s like to care 24/7/365 for someone who can no longer care for themselves,” he wrote. “I love my wife but I can’t let her take away my life!”
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