Who Are Barbara Walters' Ex-Husbands?
Journalist and TV personality Barbara Walters has garnered fame over the years for many of her celebrity interviews. From 1993 until 2015, she hosted the annual special "Barbara Walters' 10 Most Fascinating People." She has also been an anchor for "20/20" and was a co-host of "The View" until she retired in 2014 at age 84, according to Variety. She did, however, come out of retirement for one more interview.
In December 2015, Walters sat down with then-presidential candidate Donald Trump and she famously asked him (via Deadline), "Are you a bigot?" and he answered that he was not. Walters hasn't been seen publicly since that intense interview. And because she lived so much in the public eye interviewing others, you may not be aware of some aspects of her private life, including such as her three ex-husbands.
Read on to find out more about the men who were once in Walters' storied life.
Barbara Walters had a short marriage to Robert Henry Katz
On June 20, 1955, 22-year-old journalist Barbara Walters married Navy vet and business executive Robert Henry Katz, per the New York Times. Their wedding took place at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. Unfortunately, the marriage didn't last very long and was soon annulled in 1957, according to People.
And it's not a marriage Walters has spoken about publicly. According to a 1974 article in the Beaver County Times, the renowned journalist has been "adamant" about not discussing this marriage in interviews. Likely because of that, not much is known about the relationship or why the couple split so soon after. In 2014, Walters told ABC News, "I don't think that I was very good at marriage. It may be that my career was just too important. It may have been that I was a difficult person to be married to, and I just seem to be better alone. I'm not lonely, I'm alone."
But after her marriage to Katz (and before sharing that statement with ABC News), Walters would go on to find love again. By 1963, the journalist got hitched again to a prominent New Yorker.
Barbara Walters had a family with Lee Guber
In December 1963, then-NBC journalist Barbara Walters wed Broadway producer Lee Guber, according to The New York Times. Per the Los Angeles Times, the theater mogul was famous for producing around a dozen classic shows, including "The King and I," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Gypsy," "I Do! I Do!" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying."
The marriage was the second for both Walters and Guber. They decided to start a family, adopting a daughter, Jacqueline Danforth, after experiencing several miscarriages, per ABC News. In 2014, Walters told the media outlet that she wished she spent more time with her daughter, who struggled being in the spotlight with her famous mom. "Jackie has found it difficult, all her life, because she wants to be anonymous, she just doesn't like to be a celebrity," Walters told ABC News.
But after 13 years, the marriage ran its course. Walters and Gruber divorced in 1976, and she soon moved on to marry a TV mogul.
Barbara Walters married Merv Adelson not once, but twice
According to the Los Angeles Times, journalist Barbara Walters met Merv Adelson, Lorimar Television's CEO, on a blind date, and they married soon after in 1981. Adelson co-founded Lorimar, which was famous for making '80s hit TV shows like "Dallas," "Knots Landing," and "The Waltons." The company also produced now-classic movies, such as "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Being There."
They got married in 1981, divorcing in 1984 after three years of marriage. But even though the first try didn't work out, they gave it another shot. Walters and Adelson remarried in 1986 at producer Lee Goldberg's house. Walters told the New York Times in 1985 that after the wedding, their lives would be bicoastal, splitting time between New York City and Los Angeles. "I think when you have an independent life and can support yourself,” she told the Times, ”your reason for marriage becomes different. You really want to be with this person, and you don't get married for security or position. You just want to be with that person.”
Unfortunately, their second go-around also ended in divorce in 1992, and Walters has remained single ever since.