Maury Povich embraces 'gold digger' label with wife Connie Chung

Maury Povich has no problem being Mr. Chung.

The Daytime Emmy-winning talk-show host, who's been married to broadcast journalist Connie Chung for four decades, joked about the couple's financial disparity in a recent interview with Interview magazine.

Povich, best known for his long-running eponymous talk show, interviewed comedian-turned-host Adam Friedland for the April 1 Q&A profile.

"You have the best life ever," Friedland told Povich after the TV personality spoke about his Montana residence with Chung, which he described as "our own mountain."

"Only because I married Connie Chung," Povich, 87, replied.

Friedland then poked fun at Povich's lavish lifestyle with Chung, jokingly calling him a "gold digger." The talk-show icon embraced the label: "Absolutely. My wife was making 10 times what I was making when we got married. How's that?"

Prior to gaining national fame with shows like "A Current Affair" and "Maury," Povich worked as a news anchor and reporter at various outlets, from Washington, D.C., radio station WWDC to ABC's KGO-TV station in San Francisco.

Meanwhile, Povich's wife Chung became a journalistic powerhouse in the early 1970s thanks to her correspondent role at "CBS Evening News," followed by stints at CBS' KNXT, "NBC News at Sunrise" and "NBC Nightly News."

"She's been my go-to personality all these years. I have always thought of myself as Mr. Chung, and I still do," Povich told USA TODAY in a December interview. "She was a big star way before I ever was, and I don't mind."

Povich also got candid on the longevity of his marriage to Chung, sharing that the couple's mutual understanding of "what we go through [and] the pressure we're under a lot" has been crucial.

"We love each other to death. There are a lot of days we don't like each other, and that's fine," Povich told USA TODAY. "More than anything else, the reason why it worked is because we understood the business we were in. I mean, I'm married to my wife.

"She comes home, she says: 'I have to go to Pakistan. I'll see you in a week or so.' OK, fine, I understand that. Some people, some husbands, might say: 'What the hell is that? Who's going to take care of the kid?' So what? And if I say, 'I'm going to go to Nashville to do a week of [interviewing] country music stars,' [she says,] 'OK, fine.'"

Contributing: Anika Reed, USA TODAY