How Many Times Was Larry King Married?
Iconic television and radio host Larry King has died at the age of 87. The famous interviewer was hospitalized in December after testing positive for COVID-19, but his official cause of death has not been released. He was married eight times throughout his life to seven different women, spanning from 1952 to his death.
At 19 years old, Larry married his high school sweetheart Freda Miller in 1952. The parents of both youngsters disapproved of the nuptials and, subsequently, the marriage was annulled the following year. Larry waited several years before tying the knot again to Annette Kaye in 1961, according to People. Details on the very brief marriage are fuzzy, but it did result in Larry’s first child, Larry King Jr. The television star reportedly didn’t meet his son until the latter was well into his 30’s.
Larry married again in 1961 to Alene Akins for a marriage that would last just two years. Alene, a former Playboy bunny, had a child from a previous relationship whom Larry later adopted. Despite the divorce, Alene would pop up in his life again just a few years later.
In 1964, Larry married his fourth wife, Mickey Sutphin. The coupling resulted in the host’s first daughter, Kelly. Mickey divorced the CNN star after just two years of marriage.
Larry Would Return To An Old Lover In 1968, Marking His Fifth Marriage To His Fourth Wife
In 1968, Larry reunited with Alene and married her for the second time. This time around, their relationship lasted for three years, eventually ending in 1971. The pair welcomed daughter Chaia King, who later died at the age of 51 from lung cancer. Larry sadly announced last year that both Chaia and son Andy passed away within weeks of each other.
After taking a five-year break from marriage, Larry married a production assistant and former math teacher. Sharon Lepore and the icon were together for seven years before splitting in 1983.
Wife number six, Julie Alexander, tied the knot with King in 1982. The duo was officially together for three years but was separated for two before divorcing in 1992.
Larry Eventually Met Shawn Southwick, The Only Of His Marriages To Make It Into The Double Digits
In 1997, Larry wed the woman he would spend the majority of his romantic years with. Shawn Southwick and the host married in 1997 and had quite the up and down life together. They welcomed two children, Chance King and Cannon King, in 1999 and 2000, respectively. In 2010 the National Inquirer published a story suggesting that Shawn had an affair with one of their son’s baseball coaches. The coach eventually came forward and admitted to the affair, but Larry and Shawn were able to work through their issues and stayed together.
Things took a turn for the worse again in 2016 when Shawn supposedly had another year-long affair that tore her husband apart. This secret relationship was never confirmed and the couple denied the story and said things were fine in their home.
Three years later in 2019, the broadcaster filed for divorce in the Los Angeles Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences. The duo was estranged as of August 2020 while they were in the middle of divorce proceedings. At the time of this publication, Shawn has not made a statement about Larry’s passing.
