Sunny Hostin of 'The View' Got Dumped By This 80s Sitcom Star For Her 'Really Pretty' Friend

In a candid revelation, Sunny Hostin, co-host of The View, recently disclosed information about an unexpected and hurtful breakup from her past. The 55-year-old television personality shared the shocking incident on an episode of The View: Behind the Table podcast, reflecting on an interesting twist in her dating history involving Carl Anthony Payne II, popular for his role as Walter 'Cockroach' Bradley on The Cosby Show.

She revealed, “He dumped me for someone else! It wasn't nice actually.... Oh God, I hope [Carl] doesn't listen to this! I had a friend named Anna, who was really pretty. As you know, I was a dancer, I took classes at ballet, and Anna was also a dancer and he broke up with me for Anna!”

Payne, now 54, played a memorable role in the beloved sitcom that aired from 1984 to 1992. Hostin reminisced about visiting the set of The Cosby Show during their romance, where she got to interact with the cast and other stars like Chris Rock. Amusingly, Hostin wondered if her husband of 25 years, Emmanuel Hostin, knew about this historical fling.

She laughed, saying, “Come to think of it, I don't think it's come up! So hopefully he doesn't listen to this either!” Reflecting on the breakup, she asserted, “I was like, ‘Wow this is what people do’. It was kind of shocking, but she was stunning and she was way cooler than I was! I grew up in the church and I was young and I wasn't as cool. But yeah, he dumped me, he did.”

As per Daily Mail, Hostin shared that she has encountered Carl in recent years and believes he repents his actions. 'I've run into him since and he's like "wow",' she said. 'I think he thinks he made a mistake, but it's all good!' Hostin also touched on her unique experiences on the set of The Cosby Show in the eighties, “It was really interesting because it looks so different when you're there, as I'm sure our show does. I was backstage and it's almost like watching SNL live. It fascinated me, and I was watching my boyfriend on this show! It was pretty amazing and he's very talented.”

Hostin then delved into her unconventional dating experiences, exclaiming, “It's very interesting because I grew up sheltered, I was in high school at 12, college at 16, my parents didn't let me the date, and Ana Navarro always makes fun of me and says, "see these Catholic girls", I wanted to date! I was like, "I wanna go out!" Unfortunately, a lot of the people were older but I dated a lot! I was thirsting to go out and go to parties! It was really weird, I would get into clubs and I was the one that the bouncer would pick, maybe because of the way I looked or I don't know... they would pick me and then I would always get into the VIP section and the guys would come up to me! My friends always thought it was so crazy. Joy [Behar] says I'm a magnet. For some reason that tended to be true, I don't know if it was the innocence of the way... I don't know what it was.”

In a previous episode, Hostin had revealed her husband's disapproval of men buying her drinks, “I'm a bar fly so I tend to get a lot of drink offers,' she said in October. 'It's just really weird, my husband does not like it and he says it's because I have big teeth and I smile too much.” Married since August 1998, Hostin and her husband Emmanuel Hostin have built a life together, raising two children, 21-year-old son Gabriel, and 17-year-old daughter Paloma. 

Editor's note: This article was originally published on November 11, 2023. It has since been updated.