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Singer Carole King Was Married 4 Times Throughout Her Career: All About Her Love Life and Ex-Husbands

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. 

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