Barbara Walters’ 3 Marriages and Her Complicated Bond With Her Daughter Jacqueline
Before watching the new Hulu doc, learn the truth behind the icon’s family life and relationships
Over the course of her six-decade career, Barbara Walters interviewed just about everyone, from celebrities to world leaders to criminals, and she became as much of a household name as the fascinating figures she spoke with. Walters, who first came to prominence on The Today Show in the ’60s and ’70s, served as a 20/20 correspondent from 1979 to 2004, and created and cohosted The View, was a true trailblazer in the male-dominated world of broadcast news, and since her passing at age 93 in 2022, no one has been able to replace her.
Walters is now the subject of a new documentary, Barbara Walters: Tell Me Everything, which is available to stream on Hulu. The documentary is an inspiring and educational watch, and in its honor, we’re taking a look back at the legendary journalist’s personal life and how it shaped her career.
Barbara Walters’ short-lived first marriage—and the surprising man she dated early on
Barbara Walters married her first husband, businessman Robert Henry Katz, in 1955. She said they had a “rather dreary engagement,” and their marriage was annulled in 1957. For many years, she refused to acknowledge her first marriage.
Walters then dated the notorious lawyer and Donald Trump confidant Roy Cohn. Though he was a closeted gay man, he proposed to her multiple times and called her the love of his life. The unexpected former couple remained close friends until his death in 1986. During this period, Walters also dated Claudius Charles Philippe, an older, married businessman whom she called, “a great lover.”
Barbara Walters’ second marriage and motherhood journey
Walters met Lee Guber, a producer of Broadway shows, on a blind date in 1962. They married the next year, but tensions arose in their relationship due to Walters’ growing fame, and they separated in 1972, finalizing their divorce in 1976. Guber died in 1988.
After enduring three miscarriages, Walters finally became a mother when she and Guber adopted their daughter, Jacqueline, in 1968. She said that adopting her, “made her life complete,” but their relationship was rocky at times, as during Jackie’s teen years she battled drug addiction, was expelled from school and ran away from a residential program.
In the ’00s, Jackie sought to give back to people who’d faced struggles similar to hers, and she started a residential program to help at-risk girls. She’s kept out of the public eye since the program closed in 2008, and Walters said, “Jackie has found it difficult all her life because she wants to be anonymous, she just doesn’t like to be a celebrity. She may be the only one in the world who doesn’t like to be a celebrity.”
When asked about her connection to her daughter, Walters said, “There is no question of our love for each other. None. And it’s one of the reasons that she’s never particularly wanted to find her biological mother. It’s not, ‘Who’s my mother?’ I’m her mother,” and she revealed that her biggest regret was not spending more time with her.
Barbara Walters’ ’70s relationships
In the ’70s, following her second divorce, Walters dated a variety of powerful men, including technological pioneer John Diebold, economist Alan Greenspan, bank executive Alan Greenberg.
Walters also had a scandalous affair with Edward William Brooke III, the first African-American to be elected to the Senate by popular vote. She called Brooke the “most attractive, sexiest, funniest, charming and impossible man,” but ultimately broke up their covert relationship to avoid damaging her reputation.
Barbara Walters’ high-profile third marriage
Walters married her third husband, Merv Adelson, in 1986. Adelson was the cofounder of the production company Lorimar, so he and Walters were the reigning media power couple of their day. Weirdly, it’s been widely reported that Walters and Adelson were divorced and then remarried, but following Adelson’s death in 2015, Walters confirmed to The New York Times that they were married just once, from 1986 to 1992.
Walters called Adelson, “a kind and gentle man with a great sense of humor,” and noted, “We stayed friends long after our marriage.” After her final marriage, she dated Robert Neil Butler, a gerontologist known for coining the term ageism, and politician John Warner, who had previously been married to none other than Elizabeth Taylor.
Looking back at her failed marriages, Walters admitted, “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.” The iconic journalist’s complex personal life only makes her more intriguing, and we’ve learned a lot from the new documentary.
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