Barbara Walters married four times to three different men throughout her legendary broadcasting career: Robert Henry Katz, Lee Guber, and Merv Adelson (whom she wed twice). While tabloid rumors and internet fiction occasionally invent other names or obscure figures, Walters' actual romantic life involved high-profile executives and producers whose paths intersected with the golden age of television. Understanding her marriages offers a clear look at how a pioneering female anchor balanced an all-consuming career with complex personal relationships.
Her path through marriage reveals a consistent tension between domestic expectations and professional ambition. In her memoir Audition, Walters reflected candidly on the personal sacrifices required to break barriers in network television. Rather than viewing her marriages as failures, she often noted that her dedication to the newsroom left little room for traditional domesticity.
Robert Henry Katz: The First Marriage
Robert Henry Katz was Barbara Walters' first husband. A former Navy lieutenant and business executive, Katz married Walters on June 20, 1955, at the Plaza Hotel in New York City. At the time, Walters was twenty-two years old and her career as a television trailblazer had not yet begun.
The marriage was short-lived. The couple separated and ultimately filed for an annulment, which was finalized around 1957. Walters rarely spoke about Katz in later interviews or memoirs, keeping this early chapter of her life entirely private. Biographers note that this first union occurred before Walters entered the intense public eye, and both parties quickly moved on to separate lives.
Lee Guber: The Producer and Family Life
Following her early divorce and several years of professional focus, Walters met theatrical producer and theater owner Lee Guber. They married on December 8, 1963, just as Walters was solidifying her role on NBC's The Today Show.
Guber was a prominent figure in the entertainment world, known for producing successful stage productions and operating musical tent theaters across the East Coast. During their marriage, the couple experienced fertility struggles and multiple miscarriages before deciding to adopt an infant daughter, Jacqueline Dena Guber, in 1968.
The marriage lasted thirteen years, ending in divorce in 1976. Walters later admitted that the intense demands of her career—traveling across the globe for major interviews and anchoring daily news broadcasts—created significant strain on the household. Raising a child while climbing to the top of male-dominated broadcast journalism proved immensely challenging, and she and Guber amicably parted ways when their daughter was eight years old.
Merv Adelson: The Television Mogul
Merv Adelson was the only man Walters married twice. Adelson was a powerful television executive and co-founder of Lorimar Television, the studio behind massive hits like Dallas, Knots Landing, and The Waltons.
The couple met on a blind date and married in 1981, right as Walters was expanding her influence as co-host of ABC's 20/20. That initial marriage lasted until 1984. However, they reconciled and remarried in 1986 in a ceremony hosted by producer Lee Goldberg.
This second attempt also ran its course, ending in a final divorce in 1992. Despite two dissolutions, Walters and Adelson maintained a warm friendship for the rest of their lives. Walters noted in interviews that marrying later in life, when both partners had established wealth and independence, shifted the dynamic away from traditional security and toward genuine companionship.
High-Profile Romances Beyond Marriage
In addition to her legal marriages, Walters' romantic life included several high-profile relationships that drew intense media scrutiny.
During the 1970s, she had a discreet affair with then-United States Senator Edward Brooke of Massachusetts. Walters later revealed in her autobiography that the romance carried severe professional risks for both individuals during an era when political journalism and personal entanglement could destroy a career. They ultimately ended the relationship to protect their respective professional standing.
She was also famously linked to attorney Roy Cohn, though she consistently maintained that their decades-long bond was one of close friendship rather than romance. In later years, she dated Pulitzer Prize-winning gerontologist Robert Neil Butler.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many times was Barbara Walters married?
Barbara Walters was married four times to three different men: Robert Henry Katz, Lee Guber, and Merv Adelson.
Who was Barbara Walters' first husband?
Her first husband was Robert Henry Katz, a former Navy lieutenant and business executive. They married in 1955 and annulled their marriage shortly thereafter.
Did Barbara Walters have children?
Yes. She adopted one daughter, Jacqueline Dena Guber, with her second husband, Lee Guber, in 1968.
Why did Barbara Walters' marriages end?
Walters frequently cited the consuming demands of her pioneering career in broadcast journalism as a primary factor in the strain and eventual dissolution of her marriages.
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