Smokey Robinson Wife, Ex-Wife: Inside His Marriages

Music has always been extremely important to Smokey Robinson. After all, it’s what led him to meet his first wife, Claudette Rogers, whom he welcomed two children with. Though his first marriage didn’t work out, the Motown hitmaker did not give up on love. He went on to marry his second wife, Frances Glandney, in 2002.

Smokey, born William Robinson Jr. in 1940, found success early on in his career with Tamla Records, the label that was later renamed Motown. In the late ‘50s, he and a few of his friends founded the Miracles, an influential R&B group. Claudette joined the group in 1957 to take her brother Emerson “Sonny” Rogers’ place after he was drafted into the U.S. Army.

Motown founder Berry Gordy helped launch the group to stardom with the hit song “Shop Around.” During their time with the Miracles, Smokey and Claudette formed a special connection. The pair were married in 1959. They became parents for the first time in 1968 when they welcomed their son, Berry Robinson, named after the record executive who helped them find fame a decade earlier.

In 1971, the couple’s daughter, Tamla Robinson, was born. Her name is a tribute to Motown’s original moniker. Also during their marriage, Smokey fathered a third child from an extramarital affair, son Trey Robinson, which he admitted in his book, Smokey: Inside My Life.

Smokey and Claudette’s divorce was finalized in 1986. The Kennedy Center honoree moved on with Frances, but still kept a cordial relationship with his first love over the years. He is often pictured on his daughter’s Instagram account, hanging out with his kids and grandkids, and spending time with the ones who mean the most to him.

“Smokey and I had a very, very good relationship first and then marriage. And we were great friends,” Claudette told 50Bold.com in February 2020. “Smokey is remarried now, so of course, we can’t have the same kind of friendship we had before. But it’s all OK. We know where we are. You know, he’s a great guy and the father of our children and we have grandchildren as well.”

Keep scrolling to learn more about Smokey’s two marriages.

Claudette Rogers

Claudette was born in 1942 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She, much like Smokey, is a talented songwriter and vocalist. According to her official website, Claudette was the first-ever female artist signed under the Motown label. Gordy even gave her the title, “The First Lady of Motown.”

In 2009, she joined her ex-husband and other members of the Miracles to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee is also a published author. In 2019, she cowrote the children’s book Claudette’s Miraculous Motown Adventure to celebrate Motown’s 60th anniversary.

Frances Glandney

The “Being With You” singer married Frances, an interior designer, in 2002. She has accompanied her husband to several red carpet events over the years including the 2006 Kennedy Center Honors and the 2011 American Music Awards.

The couple are also business partners. In 2017, they announced the launch of two of their own skin care collections called The Get Ready and My Girl lines, named after two of Smokey’s most popular songs he has written.

“I have dry skin due to my extensive travel schedule. I also play a lot of golf,” the Grammy winner told Medium.com in April 2017. “Frances and I were looking for a solution. We tried just about everything that was on the market. The Get Ready and My Girl skin care lines are designed for people of color, not just Black people. The products are made for people with pigmentation in their skin and were developed for that sole purpose.”