View gallery
Image Credit: Andrew Parsons/Shutterstock
Dr. Phil McGraw rose to prominence through appearances on Oprah.
He’s helmed his own talk show for over 20 years.
Dr. Phil has been married to his current wife since 1976.
He announced on Jan. 31 that his show will be coming to an end.
Dr. Phil McGraw, 72, has come to the end of his reign on Dr. Phil. The talk show host and author, who holds a doctorate in clinical psychology, first rose to prominence while appearing alongside Oprah Winfrey on her landmark television talk show as a relationship expert. However, after several years his popularity became apparent, and he launched his own talk show, Dr. Phil, which has stood the test of time — lasting a whopping 21 seasons. On January 31, per Variety, Dr. Phil announced he would be stepping away from his 5 day a week hosting gig and shuttering the show. “This has been an incredible chapter of my life and career, but while I’m moving on from daytime, there is so much more I wish to do,” he said in a statement, in part.
More AboutDr. Phil
On his rise to the very top of television talk show success, Dr. Phil has been married twice. His current marriage to wife Robin has lasted for decades and counting. But he also had a previous wife, with whom he shared a much shorter union. Here’s everything to know about Robin McGraw and Debbie Higgins McCall, the two women who have called Dr. Phil their husband.
Debbie Higgins McCall
Kristin Callahan/Everett Collection
Phil, born (Philip Calvin in 1950,) was just 20 years old when he married Debbie Higgins in 1970. But according to Debbie, it didn’t go well. Per the star’s Wikipedia page, she accused him of being controlling, to the point of expecting her to take up weightlifting as a way to increase her bust size. In the end, she claimed their marriage ended after three years over infidelity.
As for how it started, the TV personality once said marriage was an inevitability. “I was the big football player, and she was the cheerleader,” Dr Phil said in 2002, according to Newsweek. “This was just the next thing to do.” He claimed there was never a fallout over ending the marriage. “We never had a cross word,” he said. “We just sat down and said, ‘Why did we do this?’” They annulled their marriage in 1973.
Articles Trending Now
Trending Now
According to The U.S. Sun, Debbie worked as an editor on the 2013 film Demon Hunters: Fear the Silence. She passed away in 2014.
Robin McGraw
Dr. Phil and his wife Robin McGraw (Andrew Parsons/Shutterstock)
Dr. Phil began dating his current wife, the former Robin Jo Jameson in 1973 while still in the process of annulling his marriage to Debbie. They ultimately married in 1976, and have since welcomed two children, Jay and Jordan McGraw. Robin, now 69, has been quite visible as an activist, public speaker, and philanthropist alongside her husband, frequently appearing on his show and running When Georgia Smiled: The Robin McGraw and Dr. Phil Foundation.
Related Link
Related:
Dr. Phil McGraw’s Kids: Everything To Know About The Talk Show Host’s 2 Sons Jordan & Jay
Per the Dr. Phil official website, her mission is to “enact real change by creating and advancing programs that help women and children — especially those affected by domestic violence — live healthy, safe and joy-filled lives.”
In an interview back in 2014, she explained one of the secrets of their long lasting marriage, which is now going on 50 years. “But we don’t fight and it’s because we had a conversation early on and I told him that it’s not natural for me to be in a house where people are screaming and yelling – my parents didn’t do it, I don’t do it and I don’t want to live in a house like that,” she told New You magazine at the time. “He got it and has never raised his voice around me. We don’t fight.”
They’ve been married for 46 years and also now share two grandchildren.
Click to Subscribe to Get Our Free HollywoodLife Daily Newsletter to get the hottest celeb news.
