Celebrities Who Married the Same Person Twice
Most people figure out whether a relationship works the first time around. But for some celebrities, one marriage wasn’t enough to settle the question.
These stars walked down the aisle with the same person twice, proving that love sometimes needs a second act—even if that second act doesn’t always have a happy ending.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
Hollywood has never seen a more dramatic love story. Taylor and Burton married in 1964, divorced in 1974, then remarried in 1975 only to split again in 1976.
Their relationship burned bright and hot, fueled by passion, arguments, and extravagant gifts. Burton once gave Taylor the Taylor-Burton diamond, worth $1 million.
But the intensity that brought them together also tore them apart, twice. Their affair started while both were married to other people and caused such a scandal that the Vatican condemned it.
When they finally made it official, the world watched their every move. He adopted her daughter Maria.
Yet even a second chance couldn’t make it work. The relationship remained too combustible to last.
Eminem and Kim Scott
The rapper built much of his career writing about his relationship with Kim Scott. They met as teenagers at a house party when he was 15 and she was 13.
They had a daughter, Hailie, and married in 1999. Their relationship was turbulent from the start.
Two years later, the couple divorced, while maintaining joint custody of their daughter. But they stayed in contact and decided to try again.
They celebrated with a small ceremony in January 2006. Unfortunately, just three months later, they ended their second marriage.
During their relationship, Eminem also adopted Alaina, Kim’s niece, and later Whitney (now known as Stevie). Years later, he released a song called “Bad Husband,” an apology for their troubled history.
Pamela Anderson and Rick Salomon
Anderson married poker player Rick Salomon in October 2007 in Las Vegas. That marriage was annulled in early 2008.
Fast forward to January 2014, and they decided to give it another shot. The divorce was finalized in April 2015.
Anderson later compared the experience to eating spoiled food. “It’s like when you put something back in the fridge that’s not good. It’s not gonna be good the second time.”
The second divorce got messy, with both sides making accusations. Some lessons take two tries to learn.
Elon Musk and Talulah Riley
The tech billionaire started dating actress Talulah Riley in 2008. They married in 2010.
In 2012, they ended their relationship. Musk announced the split on Twitter, which seems fitting for someone who would later buy the platform.
In July 2013, Musk and Riley remarried, but later divorced again in December 2014. The couple’s second divorce was finalized in 2016.
Despite the failed marriages, they remained on good terms. Riley told reporters they still see each other and care for one another.
Judge Judy and Her Husband
Judge Judy married fellow court ruler Sheindlin in 1978 but divorced in 1990. The split didn’t last long.
The TV personality remarried the People’s Court arbitrator in 1991. They’ve been together ever since.
Their story stands out because it actually worked. Sometimes taking a year apart helps people realize what they had.
Sometimes it doesn’t. For the Sheindlins, the break gave them the perspective they needed.
They’ve now been married for over three decades.
Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner
Natalie Wood was first married to Robert Wagner from 1957–1962, and then again from 1972 until her death in 1981. They spent five years together before fame and pressure drove them apart.
Wood married someone else in between, but after that marriage ended, she reconnected with Wagner. The actors remarried in an intimate ceremony and stayed married until Wood’s tragic death in 1981 at the age of 43.
Their daughter, Courtney Wagner, was born in 1974. Her death while on a boat trip remains controversial, and Wagner was later named a person of interest by authorities.
Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith
Melanie Griffith was just 14 when she met Don Johnson, who was 22 at the time. They got engaged on her 18th birthday and married in January 1976.
That marriage lasted until July 1976—just six months. Thirteen years passed.
Both dealt with personal struggles during that time. They tied the knot for a second time, after the birth of their daughter Dakota Johnson, but they split in 1996.
Their daughter went on to become a major star herself. Johnson, who had been sober since 1983, returned to substance abuse and checked into rehab.
The fairy tale couldn’t survive reality.
Marie Osmond and Steve Craig
Singer Marie Osmond and pro basketball player Steve Craig wed on June 26, 1982. They had a son, Stephen, but the marriage ended in 1985.
Osmond went on to marry someone else and had more children during a marriage that lasted until 2007. Then Osmond and Craig reconnected.
In 2011, they got married again. This is one of the success stories.
The second marriage has lasted over a decade, suggesting they both needed time to grow before they could make it work.
Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera
The pair got re-introduced in 1928 through the Mexican Communist Party and married a year later, on Aug. 21, 1929. Both were artists, both were passionate, and both had relationships with other people.
Their first marriage lasted only until 1939, due to Rivera’s temper and both spouses’ relationships with other people. On Dec. 8, 1940, the duo buried the hatchet and remarried.
Their second union lasted until Kahlo passed away in 1954 at the age of 47. Their relationship was never simple or easy, but they kept finding their way back to each other.
The art they created during this time remains legendary.
Richard Pryor and His Two Wives
One famous comedian even married two different wives two different times each. Pryor was married to Jennifer Lee from 1979 to 1982, then again from 2001 until his death in 2005.
He was also married to Flynn Belaine from 1986 to 1987, and then from 1990 to 1991. That’s right—Pryor married two separate women twice each.
He was married a total of seven times in his life. Some people never stop searching for what works.
Pryor kept trying, kept failing, and kept trying again.
Larry King and Alene Akins
Larry King has been married to eight different women, but he married former Playboy Bunny Alene Akins twice. Their first marriage was from 1961 to 1963.
They reconciled in 1969 (after King’s fourth marriage) and stayed married until 1972. King’s marriage history reads like a complicated family tree.
He kept circling back to certain patterns, including remarrying Akins. The relationship didn’t last the second time either, but at least they gave it a real try.
Jean-Claude Van Damme and Gladys Portugues
Jean-Claude Van Damme is married to bodybuilder Gladys Portugues. Although their first marriage in 1987 only lasted five years, the couple remarried in 1999 and are still together today.
This is another success story. Van Damme had other marriages in between, but he found his way back to Portugues.
They’ve now been married for over two decades in their second run. Whatever didn’t work the first time, they figured it out.
Dionne Warwick and William Elliott
Legendary singer Dionne Warwick first married William Elliott in 1966, and they divorced a year later. They then remarried in 1967 and re-divorced in 1975.
The second marriage gave them more time together and two sons, David and Damon. But more time didn’t mean a lasting relationship.
After eight years together across two marriages, they called it quits for good. At least they got to watch their children grow up before making that final decision.
NeNe and Gregg Leakes
NeNe and Gregg Leakes’ first wedding was in 1997. They had their son Brentt two years later.
After NeNe joined the cast of Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2008, their marriage troubles became a central storyline. They divorced in 2011.
NeNe rekindled the romance with Gregg when he was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer, and the pair got engaged again in 2013. They remarried that same year, with the ceremony broadcast on television.
They were together until his death in 2021. Sometimes tragedy brings people back together in ways nothing else can.
When Love Gets a Second Take
These stories don’t follow a pattern. Some couples found happiness the second time.
Others repeated the same mistakes. A few stayed together until death, while others crashed and burned even faster than before.
What they all share is the willingness to try again. Most people move on after divorce.
These celebrities looked at their failed marriages and thought, “Maybe we got it wrong the first time.” Sometimes they were right.
Often they weren’t. But the gamble itself says something about hope, stubbornness, or maybe just the difficulty of letting go of someone who once meant everything.
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