Whoopi Goldberg's Ex-Husbands: See the Star's Marriage History

She may not be currently married, but that doesn’t mean Whoopi Goldberg doesn’t know what marriage is all about. In fact, the View host has a long history of romances, including her three ex-husbands, Alvin Martin, David Claessen and Lyle Trachtenberg.

The legendary TV personality is known for breaking ground in Hollywood, but fans are always a little surprised to find out she’s walked down the aisle. This is partly due to the fact that Whoopi kept her relationships fairly private throughout the years.

However, the iconic comedian has touched on her romances on rare occasions. While chatting with The New York Times Magazine about the reason she said “I do,” Whoopi revealed settling down with someone was never really part of her plan.

“Look, people expect you to have a boyfriend. They expect you to get married,” the Sister Act star candidly shared in July 2019. “So I kept trying to do that, but I didn’t want to share information with somebody else. I didn’t want anybody asking me why I was doing what I was doing, or to have to make the other person feel better.”

Whoopi said although she was 100 percent committed to her three relationships, finding true love never came easy. “I’d be thinking, Why don’t I feel the thing that I’m supposed to?” she continued. “If you’re in a relationship, you have to do those things, and it took me a while to figure out that I didn’t want to.”

It wasn’t until the Color Purple star had a moment of realization that she didn’t need to be married in order to be happy. “One day … I thought, ‘I don’t have to do this. I don’t have to conform,'” she recalled. “I tried marriage, and it wasn’t for me. You can’t be in a marriage because everybody’s expecting you to.”

While each of the Academy Award winner’s nuptials ended in divorce, she couldn’t feel more grateful to have become the mom of her only daughter, Alex Martin, whom she shares with ex Alvin. To this day, Whoopi believes marriage will never truly work for her, and her role as a mom is the main reason why.

“Whoever comes into my life is never going to be No. 1,” she dished during a panel discussion in September 2019. “The kid is No. 1. Always. And I could never explain that to anyone … That’s my priority, that’s the person I need to pay attention to.”

Considering Whoopi also has grandkids and great-grandkids, she joked she definitely doesn’t have time for a romantic relationship. “You’re probably going to be ninth now,” the proud matriarch teased.

Scroll through the gallery below to meet Whoopi’s three ex-husbands!

Alvin Martin (1973-1979)

Whoopi’s first marriage — which was also her longest — was to her former drug counselor, Alvin Martin. The ex-pair tied the knot in 1973.

When Whoopi was just 18 years old, she gave birth to their only daughter, Alex, in May 1973. However, the Emmy winner and her former spouse called it quits after six years together in 1979. According to reports, Alvin never remarried after they split.

David Claessen (1986-1988)

Years after parting ways with Alvin, Whoopi walked down the aisle for the second time with cinematographer David Claessen in 1986. The couple was only married for two years and did not have any children before calling it quits in 1988.

Following their divorce, David — who has helped create countless music videos for hit singers like Britney Spears, Travie McCoy and Jason Mraz — went on to marry his second wife, Karen Green, from 1992 to 2002. Since 2013, he’s been married to his third wife, Taiye Selasi.

In addition to his experience working with music’s biggest superstars on their music videos, David has also worked in film and television. His cinematography credits include the 2005 film Diary of a Mad Black Woman, the 2013 TV series The Hustle and the documentary Yasuke-Son.

Lyle Trachtenberg (1994-1995)

Whoopi’s final marriage came in 1994 to actor and ITSE union organizer Lyle Trachtenberg. Like her previous marriage, the couple didn’t welcome any kids and were only wed for a year before calling it quits in 1995.

“It took me some time but I realized that trying to turn myself into something I wasn’t ready for, for a man. Wasn’t his fault. It was mine,” Whoopi told The New York Times Magazine of her three shots at relationships. “My marriages failed and I was the common denominator. My commitment was never that strong. I can say now that I was never really in love.”