Joni Mitchell's Ex-Husbands: How Many Times Has The Singer Been Married?
Joni Mitchell knows a thing or two about love and marriage — just listen to her music. The iconic folk singer-songwriter has dazzled listeners for decades but has also had her share of romances in her storied life as well. Mitchell herself has said that she isn't sure she's learned anything about love, via the Sydney Morning Herald. Previously, Mitchell had reflected on long-term love on her website.
Part of Mitchell's contemplation included the recognition that long-term relationships can be hard to maintain over long periods of time. "It's hard work, though, and a lot of people run at the first sign of trouble," she wrote on her site (via SMH). "You're with this person, and suddenly you look like an a**hole to them, or they look like an a**hole to you – it's unpleasant, but if you can get through it you get closer, and you learn a way of loving that's different from the neurotic love enshrined in movies. It's warmer and has more padding to it."
Mitchell's music is as meditative on life as her website musings. Some of her wisdom has to come from hard-won lessons, including her past two marriages.
Chuck Mitchell is a folk musician
Chuck Mitchell met Joni Anderson during his first away gig in Toronto in 1965, and within 36 hours, the two were engaged. The folk musicians were married until 1967. Joni told Marie Claire in 2013 that their marriage fell apart partly because she felt stuck creatively, via Joni Mitchell's website. "To get away from him, I would go out and drink coffee and write," she told Marie Claire. She had also had a child prior to meeting Chuck, whom she placed for adoption. Joni told Marie Claire that Chuck had told her he'd help her get her daughter back if they got married, but that never happened.
After the two divorced, Chuck continued on his journey as an artist. Per his website, he started doing college and Arts Council residencies and continued making music. In addition to being a musician, he is also a cabaret and stage performer. Some of his past credits include being on "A Prairie Home Companion," playing Harold Hill in "The Music Man," and performing his one-man show.
Chuck is remarried and has two kids. When he spoke to The Iowa Source in 2013, he mentioned that he is always practicing and writing new music. "I love what I'm doing now, it's different somehow, and I want to keep working on it," he told the outlet.
Larry Klein is a record producer, musician and songwriter
Larry Klein is a Grammy Award-winning musician, songwriter, record producer, and Joni Mitchell's second ex-husband. Klein and Mitchell met and fell in love while working together on her "Wild Things Run Fast" album. The outlet notes that the two were married in 1982 and divorced in 1994. "When I first met Joni, I thought, 'My God — I have never met a woman that I could sit and talk about anything with for five hours and not be bored,'" he told the Jewish Telegraph. "At the same time, I learned a whole lot and we had an incredibly kinetic discourse."
Despite their divorce, the two are still amicable. The two have worked together on albums since they split. Klein has also worked with a plethora of artists over the years, including Norah Jones, Iggy Pop, James Taylor, and Peter Gabriel. He has been nominated for a Grammy Award 10 times and won four.
Since Klein and Mitchell split, he has since remarried his wife, Luciana Souza. The two have made records together, including 2023's "Cometa," which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Latin Jazz Album.