Carole King’s 4 Ex-Husbands: All About the Singer's Marriage History

Legendary artist Carole King has made tremendous contributions to the rock genre over the course of her 60-year career. Much of her early success was thanks in part to collaborations with her first husband, Gerry Goffin. The “Where You Lead” singer was married four times and welcomed four children, Louise Goffin, Sherry Goffin, Molly Larkey and Levi Larkey.

Born in 1942, Carole began playing the piano when she was just 4 years old. She attended Queens College and continued to practice music on the side. It was there that she met Gerry and bonded over their shared love for music. The couple got married in 1959. The following year, Carole and Gerry gained notoriety after writing the Shirelles’ No.1 hit “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.”

The songwriters became known as one of music’s dynamic duos behind hits like “Take Good Care Of My Baby,” “The Loco-Motion” and “(You Make Me Feel Like) a Natural Woman.” Carole gave birth to their first daughter, Louise, in 1960. Their second daughter, Sherry, was born in 1962. Carole and Gerry divorced in 1968, a relationship that later became the subject of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical on Broadway.

The “Jazzman” singer released her first solo album in 1970, just as she married her second husband, Charles Larkey. Charles played the bass on several of Carole’s hit songs in the early days of her career. The couple performed in the rock group The City and released one album together, years before they married. Their first child together, daughter Molly, was born in 1971 and their son, Levi, followed in 1974.

Charles and Carole divorced in 1976. One year later, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree married songwriter Rick Evers. The pair were married up until his death from a drug overdose in 1978. She opened up about their strained marriage in her 2012 book, A Natural Woman: A Memoir.

“When I look back at my relationships with men, I see a pattern,” she wrote. “As a child my strong will juxtaposed with wanting to please my father, and because my father had been so effective in making things happen, I grew to believe that it was easier to take strong steady action toward a goal with a man to help me get there.”

In 1982, the mom of four married carpenter Rick Sorenson. The couple were married until 1989. Carole did not get married again after her fourth marriage and has instead kept her romantic life rather private.

Scroll to learn more about Carole’s four ex-husbands.

Gerry Goffin

Gerry wrote hundreds of songs with Carole throughout their relationship, with popular artists like Bobby Vee and the Animals bringing their lyrics to life. His extramarital affair with Earl-Jean Reavis of the Cookies led to the birth of their daughter, Dawn, in 1964.

After his marriage to Carole ended in 1968, Gerry continued to write for big-name artists like Whitney Houston and Rod Stewart and the Academy Award-winning theme from the film Mahogany. The chart-topping hitmaker was inducted into the Songwriting Hall of Fame with Carole in 1987 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. Gerry died on June 19, 2014, at the age of 75. He is survived by his fourth wife, Michele Goffin, and his five children.

“Gerry Goffin was my first love. He had a profound impact on my life and the rest of the world,” Carole said in a statement at the time. “Gerry was a good man and a dynamic force, whose words and creative influence will resonate for generations to come. His legacy to me is our two daughters, four grandchildren, and our songs that have touched millions and millions of people, as well as a lifelong friendship.”

Charles Larkey

Charles played the bass in a band that Carole and Gerry came across in New Jersey. After her split from Gerry, Carole and Charles moved in together in Los Angeles. They formed The City and welcomed two children, leading the pair to adjust to their lives as a blended family of six. Eventually, they realized that they were on two different pages.

“Our situation, we split up because Charlie was really into playing music. He loved playing music and playing in bands and that was not my scene,” Carole shared in an April 2012 interview with the Kennedy Library Foundation. “He got into that scene and hanging out, and hours, truly, it was hours. We loved each other. There was no other issue except that he was living the life of a musician and I was living the life of a domestic housewife, and ultimately it wasn’t working.”

Rick Evers

Carole opened up about her relationship with Evers in her memoir more than her other marriages. The pair met at a party thrown by Don Henley and fell in love quickly. They moved into a cabin in Idaho and transitioned to life outside of the busy city. After spending time in nature, Carole was inspired to become an environmental activist. However, their marriage began to crumble, and Carole left her third husband just days before his death.

“I had always been judgmental about women who stayed in abusive relationships,” she shared in her memoir. “I’d always thought, if I found myself with a man like that, the first time he struck me I’d be out of there in a New York minute. I would never stay with an abuser. Until I did.”

Gerry Goffin

​​Charles Larkey

Rick Evers

Rick Sorenson

Charles Larkey