INSIDE EDITION talks to the ex-wife of Steven Slater about the shocking way he quit his job and if it came as a surprise to her.
"He's a good guy. He's got a giant heart," says the ex-wife of the world's most famous flight attendant—and she's coming to his defense. "He's grandiose in his personality. Is this what he normally would have done? Probably not."
Cynthia Susanne doubts the claims now being made by some passengers that her ex-husband, flight attendant Steven Slater, was actually to blame for the freak-out where he quit his job and jumped down the plane's emergency chute.
Commenting on the allegations from some passengers Slater was already irritated before the incident, Susanne responded, "I really find that hard to believe. There are always gonna be two sides to the story. Do I think he was abusive to the mass of passengers on that plane? No, I can't imagine."
Slater told police he lost it after a run-in with an abusive passenger.
When asked if Steven had a hot temper, Susanne replied, "No, not at all. I think that shows this passenger must have been pretty horrific to bring him to that boiling point."
Cynthia was briefly married to Slater when they were just 18 years old. She said she's never met his boyfriend Ken, and went on to comment, "We were just very young. I think anybody that marries very young could relate to the fact that, you know, obviously we were both finding ourselves and, you know, Steven's life has taken his path and I've taken mine."
She told INSIDE EDITION she hasn't spoken to Slater yet, but she has been in touch with his mother, who's so overwhelmed by the world-wide attention that she put up a "do not disturb" sign on her front door.
When asked how she felt about her son being called a hero, Slater's mother replied, "Pride."
When asked what she would say to him, Susanne replied, "Just, you know, well done, I guess! I think he's such a character and I just hope, you know, he's gonna be fine. I'm not worried about him, I think he'll be just fine."
