Doris Day was the ultimate girl next door. You know the vibe—bright blonde hair, a voice like silk, and a smile that seemed to suggest she’d never had a bad day in her life. But if you look at the reality of her personal life, it was basically the opposite of a Hollywood musical. Honestly, for someone who spent her career playing the happy-go-lucky sweetheart, her actual track record with marriage was pretty rough.
People often ask, who is Doris Day married to, thinking there might be one lucky guy who stood by her side through the decades. The truth is, Doris was married four different times. None of those relationships gave her the "white picket fence" dream she actually wanted. She once famously said that home and marriage were the only careers she ever really desired. Kinda heartbreaking when you realize how much drama she dealt with behind closed doors.
The First Husband: Al Jorden (1941–1943)
Doris was just a teenager when she met Al Jorden. She was 16, he was a trombonist, and they were both working in the same band. Against her mother’s advice, she married him at 17. It didn't take long for the honeymoon phase to vanish.
Basically, Al turned out to be pathologically jealous. We’re talking about a guy who reportedly hit her the day after their wedding just because she thanked a bandmate for a gift. It got worse. When Doris got pregnant with her only child, Terry, Al allegedly tried to convince her to end the pregnancy. When she refused, things turned even more violent. She eventually found the strength to leave him in 1943, becoming a 19-year-old single mother.
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Marriage Number Two: George Weidler (1946–1949)
After the nightmare with Al, you’d think she might take a break. But Doris was still looking for that partner. She married George Weidler, a saxophonist, in 1946. On paper, George seemed like a "nice guy" compared to Al, but he couldn't handle his wife's skyrocketing fame.
As Doris became a massive star, George reportedly felt like he was becoming "Mr. Doris Day." He actually sent her a letter while she was performing in New York to tell her the marriage was over. It lasted about three years. Interestingly, George was the one who introduced her to Christian Science, a belief system she stuck with for a long time.
The Longest Union: Marty Melcher (1951–1968)
When people ask about her "main" husband, they’re usually talking about Marty Melcher. Marty was her agent and eventually her producer. They married on her 27th birthday. For 17 years, the world thought they were the perfect power couple. Marty even adopted her son, Terry.
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But things were messy. Marty was a strict disciplinarian with Terry, and as Doris’s manager, he was obsessed with money. When Marty died in 1968, Doris didn't just lose a husband—she lost everything.
She discovered that Marty and his lawyer, Jerome Rosenthal, had squandered her entire $20 million fortune. She was deeply in debt and found out Marty had signed her up for a TV show (The Doris Day Show) without even telling her. She had to do the show just to pay off the taxes and debt he left behind.
The Final Attempt: Barry Comden (1976–1982)
After the Marty disaster, Doris waited nearly a decade to try again. She met Barry Comden at a restaurant where he worked as a maître d'. He was about a decade younger than her, and they married in 1976.
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This one didn’t end in a financial scandal or violence, but it was still a bust. Barry eventually complained that Doris cared more about her "animal friends" than him. Doris had a legendary love for dogs—at one point, she had 14 of them. Barry once claimed he was pushed out of his own bed so a dog could sleep there. They divorced in 1982.
What We Can Learn from Doris's Journey
Doris Day lived until she was 97, and she spent her final decades devoted to animal activism rather than looking for a fifth husband. She found a different kind of peace in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California.
If you're looking into her history, it’s worth noting that her life is a masterclass in resilience. She went from being broke and betrayed by the person she trusted most to winning a massive $22 million lawsuit against that shady lawyer and rebuilding her life on her own terms.
Practical Next Steps for Fans:
- Check out the Doris Day Animal Foundation: This was her true legacy. If you want to see what she actually cared about in her later years, look into the work they do for animal welfare.
- Watch 'Calamity Jane': Doris cited this as her favorite film because she got to be a "tomboy," which was much closer to her real personality than the "perfect wife" roles she played.
- Read 'Doris Day: Her Own Story': If you want the unfiltered details of her marriages directly from her, this 1975 autobiography (written with A.E. Hotchner) is where she finally dropped the "virgin" image and told the truth about Al, George, and Marty.