Celebrity divorces are not uncommon. But when they get dragged out and the people involved start blaming one another, it can take an ugly turn. Steve Harvey is one of the celebrities who has been involved in a messy divorce or two. Let us take a look at ex-wives.
Who is Steve Harvey?
Steve Harvey is considered to be one of the most successful stand-up comedians of our time, but even he had to struggle to find success and even love. The comedian is also a radio presenter, author, actor, businessman, and much more.
Harvey survived three years of struggle and homelessness before he got stable. He made his debut as the host of Showtime at the Apollo. He has also won two Daytime Emmy Awards for his talk show, Steve Harvey.
Steve Harvey hosts the Facebook web series called Family Feud and the Miss Universe pageant as well. In 2015, he went viral for mistakenly announcing the wrong winner of the Miss Universe pageant.
In his struggling days, he held jobs such as a boxer, insurance agent, autoworker, mailman, carpet cleaner and more. He also used to sleep in his 1976 Ford when the gig would not provide a hotel room for him to stay the night.
He struggled with being homeless for about three years. But now that he has made it in life, his current salary is said to be around $45 million per year.
Over $10 million of that income comes from hosting Family Feud while another $20 million comes from his radio gig. Overall, his net worth is around $200 million and growing.
Steve Harvey’s First Wife Marcia Harvey
Harvey got married to Marcia Harvey back in 1981 when he worked as an insurance salesman in Ohio and was trying to be a comedian. His work and then his passion kept him away from home for long hours, which became one of the reasons for their ultimate split in 1994.
Rumors suggest that the couple split after 14 years together because of Harvey’s cheating tendencies. It is believed that he left his wife and two children when she was pregnant with her third one.
Not much is known about Marcia as she intentionally kept a low profile. But it is known that she went on to become a published author. Her books include Marcia: Thoughts From My Mind and Marcia: Poems From The Heart.
Steve Harvey’s Second Wife Mary Shackefford
Harvey’s second wife is Mary Lee Harvey (née Shackefford). Not much is known about Mary except that she was a professional make-up artist when she met Steve Harvey.
It is alleged that Steve had an affair with Mary before he even divorced his first wife, Mary.
They met in Texas in 1989 when he was a standup comedian and have a child together. Their marriage lasted for 9 years before they parted ways in 2005. But that was not the end of it.
A couple of years after their divorce, Mary came forward with her side of the divorce in 2011. She alleged that she found a confidential letter to Steve at their LA home and that it was from a mistress.
She also claimed to pick up a call from a woman who claimed to be calling looking for a job. This raised concern for Mary. She believed that the other woman on the call was Marjorie Bridges, Steve’s then mistress and now wife.
Mary also came forward to reveal that Steve Harvey never showed up at the hearing and took custody of their son. Even after being ordered not to talk about the divorce or the custody case by the judge, she continued to do so. In December 2013, she was jailed for a month for being in contempt of the court.
She went on to sue Harvey for $60 million in 2017, which included child endangerment, torture, breach of contract, etc.
Mary also claimed that Steve took their son away from her and that left her depressed and suicidal, she self-medicated to feel better.
However, some of her claims like Steve Harvey leaving her with nothing were slammed by a judge. It was revealed that she got three homes, $1.5 million, and $40,000 each month in March. The court also produced documents to show that she intentionally sent her son to Harvey without his knowledge.
Steve never addressed any of this publicly, except briefly stating that he was sorry his family and children had to suffer because of it. He did, however, sue Mary for spreading negative rumors about him. He also claimed that the negative rumors were the reason he was denied a show on Oprah’s OWN network.
Steve Harvey’s Third Wife Marjorie Elaine Harvey
Marjorie is Steve Harvey’s third and current wife. They got married back in 2007, two years after he divorced his first wife. They are parents to three children from Marjorie’s past that Steve adopted.
In 2014, Steve finally revealed how he popped the question to Marjorie. He said that he flew her out for a vacation in Mexico and hid a diamond ring in her dessert.
Marjorie founded the fashion and lifestyle brand called The Lady Loves Couture. She also co-founded The Steve And Marjorie Harvey Foundation. In 2022, Steve penned a heartfelt letter to his wife on their 15th anniversary.
He said that he owed a lot of “debt and gratitude” to her and that she changed his life. He also added “If people get tired of hearing me say that, that’s OK. It doesn’t change the facts. You are the single biggest reason outside of God’s grace that I am where I am today. You’re the one.”
Steve Harvey has seven children and a bunch of grandchildren too. The most popular of his children is his daughter Lori Harvey. She has been in the headlines for dating rapper Future and Akon’s brother Abou Thiam.
Steve Harvey had to struggle to break into comedy and then climb the stairs to be as successful as he is. Although it was not easy, he seems to be in a good place in his professional as well as personal life.
So glad for Steve he has brought so much joy to me on the sad days of my life, love you Steve Harvey
The world is still a beautiful place, regardless of all the intricacies. God still remains God. But only if we knew what we didn’t know! (From an aspiring writer)