Jason Kennedy and his wife have finally addressed the controversy surrounding Catt Sadler's departure from E! News, which was prompted by wage inequality concerns.
On Thursday, Lauren Scruggs took to her social media accounts and blog to offer "insight to the last 48 hours," defending the 36-year-old anchor against the backlash that followed Sadler's public revelation on Tuesday about the substantial salary gap between them.
Sadler disclosed that she left the network after discovering Kennedy had been earning "double" her salary for "several years," despite both having risen through the ranks at E! News around the same period.
"I believe in female empowerment and gender equality, but it's heartbreaking that a network is being deemed sexist when that is simply not true," wrote the 29-year-old Scruggs.
"At one time my husband had a female co-anchor on E! News who made 3 times his salary," she noted, referencing Giuliana Rancic, who PEOPLE reported was compensated "significantly more" than Kennedy prior to her 2015 departure from the network.
Lauren Scruggs Instagram; Joe Russo/WWD/REX/Shutterstock
"Women are paid accordingly on this network, and the difference in his salary versus hers did not affect Jason. He knows there are always more components to consider when determining one's salary than gender alone," said Scruggs, who married Kennedy in December 2014.
"Since Jason was named the permanent anchor of E! News over two years ago, he has had various co-hosts that rotate throughout the week. A permanent co-host has never been named since the last one left 6 months ago," she added.
In a statement to PEOPLE, an E! spokesperson said on behalf of the network and Kennedy, "E! compensates employees fairly and appropriately based on their roles, regardless of gender. We appreciate Catt Sadler's many contributions at E! News and wish her all the best following her decision to leave the network."
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Scruggs continued to back her husband by emphasizing that "there are two sides to every story" and that her post aimed to present Kennedy's perspective. "Everyone deserves to know before jumping to conclusions about a place he has called home for the last twelve years," she stated.
"If he ever heard that gender inequality was occurring at his workplace, he would take action. Instead, it's the contrary, and the numerous phone calls we have had these past two days from both current and former female employees at E! only support what he has seen in his time there. These women have assured us that they never felt gender inequality was at play at any time," she explained.
Sadler shared with PEOPLE how she uncovered the pay disparity.
This year, as the single mother of two's contract was nearing its end, E! executives informed her they wished to extend her agreement. However, around that same period, Sadler said she was "informed and made aware that [Kennedy] who I started with the same year and have come up with doing essentially similar jobs, if not the same job, wasn't just making a little bit more than me but was making double my salary and has been for several years."
Sadler joined E! in 2006 as host of The Daily 10 and was named host of E! News in 2010, additionally hosting Live from E! and E!'s Daily Pop. Kennedy started at E! in 2005 as a weekend anchor and hosted The Daily 10 before becoming a host of E! News and Live from E! in 2012.
Upon learning Kennedy's salary, Sadler attempted to renegotiate her new contract. "Not only did [E!] refuse to pay me as much as my male counterpart, but they didn't come close — nowhere close, not even remotely close," she recalled.
WATCH: E! News Alum Giuliana Rancic Was Paid 'Significantly More' than Jason Kennedy: Source
Meanwhile, Scruggs wrapped up her post by highlighting her husband's character.
"Jason is the most tender-hearted & respectful person and it's so sad to see him unfairly publicly shamed. His name has been dragged through the mud regarding nothing he did, except be a great friend & colleague," she wrote.
"It absolutely breaks my heart to watch, & it is devastating & frustrating to see how this all played out. I will always stand on truth, & I cannot stand by and be silent when the foundation of a story that affects my family is not based on that. I am so proud of & inspired by my husband for constantly being prayerful, surrounding himself w/ wisdom, & being the definition of a class act even in unfortunate circumstances. Love u, Jase, I am honored to be by your side."
Scruggs published most of the same paragraphs on social media, omitting only the sentence from her blog where she praised Sadler.
"I do, though, want to thank Catt for defending and supporting Jase even though this narrative brought insurmountable amounts of hate towards him on social media," she wrote.
Kennedy expressed gratitude to his wife in his own Instagram and Twitter posts on Thursday, writing, "I love you @laurenscruggs thank you for what you just posted."
Sadler told PEOPLE on Wednesday that she does not hold Kennedy responsible for the wage gap.
"Jason Kennedy is one of my best friends in the whole wide world. He is like a brother to me. And in no way do I want this to reflect poorly on him. This is not his fault," said Sadler, who is a parent to sons Arion Boyd, 12, and Austin Boyd, 16.
"He's devastated, I think, and I think he believes that this is a great loss for the network. He does not want to see me go. Jason is a class act. … But it's important that people don't vilify him because he isn't the problem — the system's the problem, the structure's the problem. And I really do mean that. Because that's been a hard part of this whole thing because I love him dearly," she shared. "And to be honest, he has been such a champion for me in every sense. But it's not his decision."
