"Our oldest son didn't talk to us for 4 days" - Dana White recounts how the infamous slap incident affected relationship with children

Dana White recently revisited the infamous New Year's Eve slapping incident and opened up about how the viral nature of the incident affected his family. The UFC CEO revealed that the viral incident affected their kids the most, and his eldest son went so far as to shut his parents out for four days.

For context, the UFC frontman and his wife were at a nightclub in Cabo San Lucas on December 31 last year, looking to revel through the midnight hour to bring in the new year. However, things took an ugly turn after they welcomed in 2023 post-midnight. The couple was filmed getting into an intoxicated physical altercation that ended with them exchanging slaps in public.

In a recent interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, Dana White reflected on the incident and described dealing with the fallout. When asked if addressing the issue with the kids was the most challenging consequence to deal with, White replied:

"100%. I mean, everybody was acting like there needs to be some big apology to the world. No, the apology was to my kids. From me and my wife. Nobody wants to see their dumb, drunk parents slapping each other on TMZ."

Dana White continued:

"Our oldest son didn't talk to us for four days. And the other kids had to deal with some stuff, too. The only apology that needed to be made was to our children... We did it, we handled it, and we got through it as a family."

Catch White's comments below (12:30):

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Dana White describes being on the receiving end of negative attention

In the same interview with Piers Morgan, Dana White opened up about dealing with bad press of such a nature and admitted that it's not at all enjoyable. However, White admitted that he knew he had to accept the consequences of his actions and deal with whatever came with it.

Soon after clips of the incident went viral, White clarified that alcohol had a lot to do with their behavior and issued a heartfelt apology for his actions. Speaking to TMZ, the UFC CEO added that there's never an excuse to assault women physically, and he's embarrassed by the incident.

During his appearance on the Piers Morgan Uncensored show, Dana White was asked what the social backlash felt like in the incident's aftermath. He replied:

"It's definitely not fun. It's something that, as a man, you have to stand up and deal with... The most important part of it is to handle it as a family first."