Barbara Walters, the renowned journalist, had a very eventful love life. Here’s a glimpse into the lives of Barbara Walters’ spouses.
Barbara Walters was an iconic journalist and writer. With a career that spanned over 60 years, she paved the way for many female broadcasters with her talent and dominance in an industry that men dominated.
Who Was Barbara Walters?
Barbara Jill Walters was an American broadcast journalist and television personality. She was born in Boston on September 25, 1929, to parents Dena and Lou Walters. Her father managed the Latin Quarter nightclub in Boston, and in 1942, he opened the club’s now-famous New York location. He also worked as a Broadway producer, which made Walters familiar with many celebrities.
Walters often moved during her childhood and attended a lot of schools. She attended Lawrence School in Brookline, Massachusetts but left halfway through fifth grade when her father moved the family to Miami Beach in 1939.
She continued attending public school there until her father moved the family again to New York City. There, she spent eighth grade at the private Ethical Culture Fieldston School, after which the family moved back to Miami Beach.
After tenth grade, she returned to New York City and attended another private school. In 1951, she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from Sarah Lawrence College in New York, where she found her love for writing and journalism.
Her career began at a small advertising agency in New York City, and she worked at the NBC network’s flagship station WNBT-TV (now WNBC), doing publicity and writing press releases. She later went on to join big press firms like NBC and ABC.
Walters became the first female co-host of a U.S. news program and later signed a five-year, $5 million contract with ABC, establishing her as the highest-paid news anchor, either male or female.
Who Were Barbara Walters’ Spouses?
Throughout her career, Walters had a very eventful love life. It might come as a bit of a surprise to you that the writer was married four times to 3 different men. Her marriages and divorces made many major headlines as she was one of the most prominent and recognized journalists worldwide.
Let’s look at who she married and how each marriage unfolded.
Robert Henry Katz (1955-1957)
Robert Henry Katz was Walters’ first husband. He was a former Navy lieutenant and business executive whose family owned a children’s bonnets company. He and Barbara married on June 20, 1955, at the famous Plaza Hotel in New York City.
She was just 26 years old at the time, and her career in journalism hadn’t taken off yet. Unfortunately, their marriage didn’t last long. They filed for divorce in 1957 and had their marriage annulled in 1958.
Walters later revealed in an article in The Washington Post after the divorce that she tried to break the engagement before the wedding. She only went through with the marriage at her father’s insistence, who thought her concerns were just bridal nerves. The two did not have any children together.
Lee Guber (1963-1976)
Walters’ second husband, Lee Guber, was also in the entertainment industry. He was an American theater impresario who produced several Broadway theatre productions and a theater owner.
He reportedly met Walters at a show, and the two got married on December 8, 1963, while Walters was still in the early stage of her career. A couple of years into their marriage, they tried having biological children but were unsuccessful.
Walters had three miscarriages, and the couple decided to opt for adoption. When their friends looking to adopt a boy were offered a girl, Barbara and Lee jumped at the opportunity.
They adopted Jacqueline Dena Guber when she was just an infant in 1968. The couple spent 13 years married before divorcing in 1976. Guber passed away on March 27, 1988.
Merv Adelson (1981-1984 & 1986-1992)
Mev Adelson was Walters’ last husband, who she married not once but twice! He was an American real estate developer and television producer who co-founded Lorimar Television. The pair reportedly met on a blind date that went very well in 1980 and tied the knot in 1981. They split and got a divorce in 1984 but tried to rekindle their relationship two years later.
In 1986, they married again, hoping it would work out this time, but it sadly didn’t. They did not have any children together and stayed together longer, this time till 1992, when they got divorced.
Their marriage not working out did not stop the pair from being friends afterward. As Walters told The New York Times in 2015, “Merv was a kind and gentle man with a great sense of humor, and we stayed friends long after our marriage.” The two went on to be very successful in their careers, and Adelson died of cancer on September 9, 2015.
Walters hinted in an interview that while she had no regrets, her busy career played a part in her three divorces. Her successful career made her friends with some of Hollywood’s top celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker, Paul McCartney, Jennifer Hudson, Oprah Winfrey, Barbra Streisand, and Paris Hilton.
The icon died on December 30, 2022, at 93, surrounded by friends and loved ones in New York City. She will be remembered as a legend for many years to come.