When a marriage seems as happy as Steve Harvey and Marjorie Harvey’s, it’s perhaps inevitable that people will try to meddle in it. Since last year, unfounded rumours have been swirling in the US tabloids that Marjorie had been unfaithful to her husband of 17 years, and that the couple were getting a divorce.
But Marjorie is having none of it. Last August, she took to Instagram, saying: “My husband and I don’t usually stop to address all the foolishness and lies that have been spread about us. However, to whom much is given much is required,” she added, sharing an article entitled “How to handle being lied about”.
Since then, Marjorie has taken a show-don’t-tell approach to the problem by simply being herself, packing on the usual PDA and – most recently – posting plenty of photos from their July family holiday in Europe.
Here’s what you need to know about the Family Feud host’s long-time wife, Marjorie Harvey.
How did Marjorie Harvey and Steve Harvey meet?
The Harveys’ meet cute is one straight out of a romcom. Steve had already begun performing on stage at a comedy gig in Memphis in 1990, per People, when Marjorie walked in late with her friend. As she took her seat at the front, Steve fell completely silent. “He was just staring at me. I thought I was going to become part of the show,” Marjorie said of the encounter. “He finally realised, ‘Oh, I gotta say something,’ so he said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry. I don’t know who this is, but I’m gonna marry her.’”
They have a big family
Despite the pair hitting it off right away, they split up after just a few weeks, per People. Steve reportedly “disappeared” because he wasn’t in a good place financially and felt the timing wasn’t right, according to an interview Marjorie gave to Essence in 2014. They reconnected 15 years later, but by then they’d both married – and had even children with – other people.
After the pair wed in 2007, Steve legally adopted Marjorie’s three children from her previous relationships – Lori, Jason and Morgan – and brought them into the fold with his children from his two other marriages – Brandi, Karli, Broderick and Wynton – according to Us Weekly.
As the recent holiday snaps show, they’re all doing great now – but it wasn’t easy at first, Marjorie told People in 2016. “When you’re dealing with a blended family, everyone is coming from a place of broken,” she said. “But I just told them, ‘Everyone is included … now we’re mum and dad to everybody.’”
She’s been dubbed the “queen of slaycations”
The family’s ultra-glam yachting holiday – which so far has taken them to Taormina and St Tropez, according to Essence – is in fact just the latest in a parade of incredible trips Marjorie has been on in recent years.