DENVER -Tom Martino has built an empire as the consumer "Troubleshooter" for more than 30 years. He's now sharing his explanation for a list of recent troubles of his own: bankruptcy, an assault charge and his divorce from wife Holly.
In an exclusive interview Martino talked with 9NEWS to reflect on the life outside of the studio.
"It's like, everything I do is kind of public," Martino said. "About four years ago [I] did something strange. I surrendered my life to Jesus Christ."
That's when he says his world began to unravel.
"I think what happened was I was being cleansed, and I was being taught a lesson that you don't need money and you don't need a trophy wife and you don't need fancy cars to be happy," Martino said.
Home life has changed. Martino is in the process of a divorce. The paperwork is sealed. He says he doesn't want the public to know how much money and property he has, and hopes to keep his children out of the spotlight.
"I'm ashamed I couldn't make my marriage work," he said. "I'm ashamed of it. But it happens. It happens."
Martino says in a difficult period he found peace in work as a consumer advocate and reporter. His credibility, he says, is always in question.
"Do people still trust me?" he asked. "I still help people every day. When a mother doesn't have a car to get to work, we get them a car."
He adds perception is subjective.
"I imagine a lot of people trust me and some don't," he said. "I think the truth will always win out."
Friday a Denver City court vacated an assault charge filed in December after Martino pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of disturbing the peace. If he stays crime free for a year, the incident will be wiped from his record.
(KUSA-TV © 2014 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)
