‘I was bitter for years’ - Golden Tate on infamous rumors of affair with Russell Wilson’s ex-wife

Former Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Golden Tate appeared as a guest on ex-Seahawks teammate KJ Wright’s KJ All Day podcast. One of the topics discussed was, you guessed it, those Russell Wilson rumors from yesteryear.

Back in 2013, the Seahawks were on their way to winning the Super Bowl, but it was also the last year of Tate’s contract before entering free agency. Shortly after the Seahawks hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, Tate left Seattle for the Detroit Lions and Wilson divorced his first wife, Ashton Meem. Rumors spread online that Tate had an affair with Ashton while she was still married to Wilson, and Golden shot those rumors down back in 2015. Alas, that didn’t really stop anything and at the time there was the idea that this was one of the reasons Tate wasn’t re-signed by the Seahawks.

Nearly a full decade later, prompted by co-host Gee Scott, Tate went in-depth on what transpired and how he felt about the ordeal at the time.

“There was a rumor out there that I was not coming back to the Seahawks because Ashton, Russell’s wife at the time, had an affair with me which was completely not true,” Tate said. “In fact, my wife now (Elise Tate), and Ashton, were best friends and still are really good friends. In fact, Ashton came to our wedding.

“Russell and I had had conversations about his future in regards to that,” Tate continued. “So when I heard that, I was like that’s kinda creative and kinda funny but it picked up stream, and I feel like I was never defended properly. It kind of made me angry because now, everyone’s just coming at me completely sideways and I’m not being defended. It was a whole big situation and I just felt like a scapegoat in a way. I was bitter for years, y’all. Years.

“Every time I saw Russell, I’d be so angry. Like ‘How would you let this happen?’ I used to let you come over to my in-laws’ house for your birthday and my birthday, and we’d cook meals for you. And you don’t come to bat for me when something like this comes up? Knowing it’s the furthest thing from the truth? It just hurt. It really, really hurt.”

“It made zero sense for it to have ever happened,” Tate added. “Like contract year? That’s what I’m going to do? And on top of that, my wife and Ashton are still really good friends.”

The Detroit Lions signed Tate to a five-year, $31 million contract and recorded 90+ catches in his first four seasons with the Lions before he was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles. Tate relayed how his wife and family were impacted by comments from fans at certain Lions games as a result of the rumors.

“I was texting Russ like ‘Dude, clear my name, say something,’ and he kinda didn’t say much. I just wanted it to be over. I knew that wasn’t true, so my belief was all I needed at the time. But I get to Detroit and we would play anyone in the NFC West, who obviously knew the story and my wife—my girlfriend at the time—would be wearing my jersey and they’re shouting stuff at her. Or my in-laws are coming to games and they’re shouting comments.”

And to wrap this mini-soap opera up, KJ chipped in with some cryptic statements regarding Wilson.

“I don’t want to go viral with this, I really don’t,” Wright said. “A few dudes came on here—off record, on record—and have said what they’ve said or how they felt about number 3. When you play this game, when you go through this journey, it’s all about the brothers. It’s all about the brotherhood. And when it’s all said and done, he’s got a lot of making up to do. He’s got a lot of phone calls to make. A lot of ‘Hey bro, I should’ve done better with that.’ And that’s the god honest truth. I couldn’t hold that inside, but he’s got a lot of making up to do.”

Oh the stories from the greatest era in Seahawks history never end, do they?

If you want to watch the whole episode, just click on the video below. The Tate-Wilson rumors/drama starts at the 31:20 mark, but I know damn well you’re also interested in the Top Pot donuts story, which begins at 10:24.

And for any Green Bay Packers fans who have wandered onto the site for the day for some reason: Tate caught it. Timestamp at 39:00.