Dionne Warwick Married (And Divorced) Her Ex-Husband William Elliott Twice
Dionne Warwick knew William Elliott had a reputation, but she didn't care. After meeting the actor and drummer when she worked with his jazz band, Rhoda Scott Trio, as a background vocalist, the six-time Grammy Award winner fell for Elliott's larger-than-life persona. "Bill had a flamboyant personality and was known as 'not a one-woman man,'" she wrote in her memoir "My Life, As I See It: An Autobiography," released in 2010. "He was the 'catch,' as they say. So I made up my mind to catch him (and I did)."
She did, indeed. In just a few months, Elliott shocked everyone who knew him when he asked Warwick to marry him. This being the 1960s, the singer wanted Elliott to ask her parents for their blessing. But Warwick's father nearly put an end to the relationship before it had a proper chance to begin. "My dad, knowing of Bill's reputation, took him into our living room to have 'that' talk," she wrote. The older man was getting ready to go on a hunting trip and used the opportunity to clean his rifle during the convo.
Though shaken, Elliott made it out in one piece and remained firm in his decision to marry Warwick. The two tied the knot in 1966 in a ceremony, even though he arrived late. Warwick was annoyed but let it go. Still, it was clear the marriage had gotten off on the wrong foot. And lo and behold, it did go on to be marked by ons and offs.
Dionne Warwick and William Elliott divorce after one year
Dionne Warwick regretted her decision to marry William Elliott just three days after the wedding. "I just woke up and knew I had made a huge mistake," she detailed in "My Life As I See It." "I realized that my flexible freedom of coming and going, which I was accustomed to, would no longer exist." She knew she wanted to divorce Elliott and wanted it done fast to prevent things from deteriorating. She got on a plane to Texas and then on a bus to Juárez, and within three hours had her Mexican divorce papers in hand.
The divorce was finalized in the U.S. in May 1967. But even if Warwick didn't feel ready to settle down, that doesn't mean she didn't have feelings for Elliott. The couple got back together shortly after divorcing and exchanged vows a second time just four months later, in September 1967. Their second attempt worked better, producing two sons, David and Damon. But it wasn't going to last. In 1975, Warwick and Elliott divorced a second time.
The reasons this time were a bit more complicated. Warwick's growing success and fame became an issue in the marriage. "I was the major earning power in the family and that is very difficult for the male ego," she told The Guardian in 2020. "It just got too much to bear for my husband, and we decided that it would be best for us to part ways."
Dionne Warwick never remarried — but enjoyed plenty of companionship
Dionne Warwick opted to remain single after divorcing William Elliott a second time. In fact, she continued to attach her civil status to him. "Bill died in 1983, so I'm a widow. I decided I didn't really need to be married," she told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2016. That doesn't mean Warwick didn't have plenty of men to keep her company. "Everybody needs companionship, of course ... When I feel the need to have company, I know where to go and who to call. Ain't 'Ghostbusters' either," she told People in 2022.
Warwick has a type, too. "Brazilian men are — how can I say it? — yadi yada! Most of my male friends who come to Brazil say, 'My goodness, the girls are beautiful.' Well, guess what? We ladies have eye candy here, too!" she told the SMH, speaking from her home in Brazil, which she left the U.S. for in 1994. But her taste in men isn't restricted to South American hotties. American men several decades her junior are also fair game.
After Pete Davidson split from Kim Kardashian in August 2022 and quickly moved on with Emily Ratajkowski, Warwick had thoughts. "I will be dating Pete Davidson next," she said in a viral tweet. The "Saturday Night Live" star wasn't single for long after breaking up with Ratajkowski, but Warwick isn't overly concerned to have missed that boat. "[Dating] is not my priority right now," she told People that year.