Inside Bruce Boxleitner's Bumpy, Three-Marriage Journey To Happily Ever After

Bruce Boxleitner has been happily married to publicist Verena King (seen above) since October 2016. But the journey wasn't straightforward. King is the "Babylon 5" star's third wife, whom he married at age 66. Before finding his happily-ever-after, Boxleitner was married to fellow actors Kathryn Holcomb and Melissa Gilbert. He first became a married man in 1977, at age 27. While Holcomb went on to live a quiet life, she starred as Boxleitner's sister on "How the West Was Won" in the '70s.

Boxleitner and Holcomb welcomed two children, Sam and Lee, in July 1980 and November 1985. However, the two divorced not long after in 1987, amid the end of "Scarecrow and Mrs. King." It was no coincidence. Boxleitner's dedication to the job and inability to separate himself from his character came at a price. "Instead of leaving Stetson in the trailer that son of a gun was always on my back, leading eventually to the break-up of my marriage," he told The Spokesman-Review in November 1987 (via TapaTalk). It took him only a few years to find love again with Gilbert — and it was thanks to his ex-wife.

It was through Holcomb that Boxleitner met the "Little House on the Prairie" star in 1992, just weeks after Gilbert's split from Bo Brinkman. In 1995, they got married and welcomed their son, Michael, named after Gilbert's on-screen father, Michael Landon, who had died in 1991. But the marriage wasn't meant to be. In 2011, Boxleitner and Gilbert divorced after 16 years. It was a bumpy road, but Boxleitner found the one for him later in life.

Bruce Boxleitner may have had two marriages under his belt before he settled down with Verena King, but his relationships with his ex-wives have remained civil. After his first ex introduced him to Melissa Gilbert (whom he's pictured with above), he repaid the favor by attending Kathryn Holcomb's wedding to British stage actor Ian Ogilvy in June 1992. While Boxleitner hasn't said much about his divorce from the "Little House on the Prairie" alum, Gilbert emphasized their mutual love in her public statement about their split. "We have loved each other for a very long time," it read (via ABC News).

Boxleitner's previous experiences must have set the foundation for his third marriage. In his 1987 interview with The Spokesman-Review, he predicted marrying another actor might not be the right choice for him. "It sure seems that very few actors starring in successful TV shows remain married," he said. He met his third wife in January 2013, a little under two years after his second divorce. King is a publicist who, during her marriage to Boxleitner, went back to school to become a registered dietitian.

And her husband put a lot of his own life aside to support her in her new career goals. In the middle of exams season, King carved out some time to celebrate her and Boxleitner's ninth wedding anniversary in 2025, making sure to thank him for his role in her path. "[This] man has sacrificed so much for me so that I could have a new career," she captioned an Instagram post. It looks like Boxleitner's love life found more stable ground outside of Hollywood.