When Emmy-winning actress Rue McClanahan published her memoir, My First Five Husbands... And the Ones Who Got Away, she didn't just write a standard Hollywood tell-all. She offered a remarkably candid, witty look at her lifelong search for enduring partnership, culminating in her marriage to her sixth husband, Morrow Wilson. While television audiences across the globe knew her best as the unapologetically man-crazy southern belle Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls, McClanahan's real-life romantic history was just as colorful, complex, and ultimately redemptive.
Her sixth marriage marked a definitive milestone in both her personal life and her writing. By chronicling her journey through five divorces, numerous broken engagements, and professional milestones on stage and screen, McClanahan claimed her own narrative voice. She transformed personal turmoil into a self-deprecating masterclass on resilience, humor, and self-discovery.
The Reality Behind the Persona
For millions of television fans, separating McClanahan from her most famous character proved nearly impossible. Yet the actress often pointed out the single major distinction between them.
- The hometown difference: Blanche Devereaux hailed proudly from Atlanta, Georgia, while McClanahan grew up in Healdton, Oklahoma.
- The outlook on life: Both shared an unabashed appreciation for romance and men, but McClanahan's real-life path involved navigating the shifting cultural landscapes of mid-century America, single motherhood, and the grueling grind of Off-Broadway theater before finding prime-time stardom on Maude and The Golden Girls.
Her autobiography, released in 2007 just three years before her passing in 2010, gave readers an unfiltered view of these struggles. She didn't shy away from detailing her mistakes, her naivety in early relationships, or the emotional toll of failed marriages. Instead, she evaluated her past with a sharp, humorous eye, grading her partners using a personal metric she called her Fun Quotient.
Navigating the Path to the Sixth Marriage
McClanahan's romantic history wasn't a straight line from obscurity to Hollywood glamour. It was a winding road filled with abrupt marriages, career sacrifices, and hard-won lessons about independence.
Early Marriages and Industry Struggles
As a young woman pursuing a theater degree at the University of Tulsa, McClanahan wrestled with the societal expectations placed on women in the 1950s. Hasty early marriages often stemmed from a misplaced desire for stability or security. Juggling the demands of raising her son, Mark, while trying to secure acting work in New York City required immense grit.
During these years, she learned that conventional domesticity rarely suited her creative spirit. Her relationships often frayed under the weight of mismatched ambitions. Rather than letting these failures embitter her, she channeled her experiences into her craft. Studying under acting teachers like Uta Hagen helped her build the depth and comedic timing that later defined her television career.
Finding Stability With Morrow Wilson
The narrative shift in her personal life arrived when she met actor Morrow Wilson. Unlike her previous five husbands—whose relationships were marked by volatility, mismatched goals, or emotional disconnect—her relationship with Wilson provided a steady, supportive foundation.
By the time she penned her memoir in her early seventies, she had shared over a decade of peaceful, collaborative partnership with Wilson. This sixth marriage wasn't just a late-in-life footnote; it served as the emotional anchor of her book. It proved that a person could continuously reinvent their romantic life, learn from past missteps, and finally achieve a balanced partnership without losing their fierce independence.
Defining a Literary Voice
Writing a memoir late in a storied career poses unique challenges. Many celebrity autobiographies lean heavily on ghostwriters or rely on sugar-coated PR anecdotes. McClanahan took a different approach, writing with a distinct, chatty Southern cadence that felt entirely authentic.
Unfiltered Honesty and Humor
Her literary voice worked because she refused to play the victim. When discussing difficult divorces or personal health battles—including her successful fight against breast cancer—she maintained a sparkling optimism. She famously advised readers to adopt a specific phrase when facing high-pressure decisions: Let me think it over.
This blend of vulnerability and sharp wit elevated the book from a standard celebrity cash-in to a genuine exploration of female agency. She owned her flaws, laughed at her romantic misadventures, and offered readers practical wisdom wrapped in southern charm.
Impact on Late-Career Memoirs
McClanahan's book set a high standard for how television icons could document their lives on their own terms. Instead of focusing solely on the glitz of network television sets or behind-the-scenes gossip about co-stars like Bea Arthur and Betty White, she focused on her inner growth. Her voice remained distinctly hers: sharp, self-aware, and irrepressibly cheerful.
Common Mistakes Readers Make About McClanahan's Life
When exploring McClanahan's history, casual fans often fall into a few common traps:
- Assuming she was exactly like Blanche: While she loved romance, McClanahan was a deeply focused, classically trained theater actress with a disciplined work ethic.
- Dismissing her writing as superficial: Readers who pick up her memoir expecting only shallow Hollywood gossip are usually surprised by its psychological honesty and emotional depth regarding therapy, grief, and self-reliance.
- Overlooking her stage career: Many remember her only for her 1980s sitcom work, ignoring decades of difficult, gritty stage acting in New York prior to her television breakthrough.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was My First Five Husbands published?
The memoir was published in 2007 by Broadway Books, roughly three years before McClanahan's death in June 2010.
Who was Rue McClanahan's sixth husband?
Her sixth and final husband was actor Morrow Wilson, whom she married in 1997. They remained happily married until her passing.
Did Rue McClanahan have children?
Yes, she had one son, Mark Bish, from her first marriage to Tom Bish.
How did her real-life marriages influence her acting?
Her varied experiences with marriage and relationships gave her an encyclopedic understanding of complex, eccentric, and strong-willed women, directly informing her iconic portrayals of Vivian Arthur Harmon on Maude and Blanche Devereaux on The Library of Congress historical television archives.
