Phillip Calvin McGraw, or Dr. Phil, as he’s known by millions of people around the world, is an American television personality, author, television show host, father, grandfather, and husband – or is he? Is Dr. Phil a happily married man or is he actually divorced?
Dr. Phil has been married to Robin Jameson since 1978 and the two remain happily married to this day. However, he has technically been divorced in the past, after his marriage to his first wife Debbie Higgins McCall was annulled in 1973.
Rumors that Dr. Phil and Robin are getting divorced have been circulating for quite some time now, but is there any truth to these rumors? Let’s find out, as well as take a look at what Dr. Phil’s first marriage was really like and why it ended.
Are Dr. Phil and Robin Jameson Divorced?
Sometime in 1973, Dr. Phil met Robin Jameson at her parent’s house and according to The Sun, it was love at first sight. For their first date, they went on an airplane ride – piloted by none other than Dr. Phil himself! After three more years of extravagant dates, the pair said ‘I do’ in 1976 and are still married to this day.
Despite speaking publicly about their “happy marriage” on several occasions, news about the couple’s imminent divorce is often splashed on the headlines of articles. In 2019, Dr. Phil spoke to Rachael Ray about said headlines, saying, “I just shake my head at these stupid tabloids – we’re not getting a divorce.”
That same year, Dr. Phil even took to his ‘The Dr. Phil Show’ to squash the rumors, “We need to warn people about some fake divorce stories that are popping up everywhere right now. Not only are they completely untrue, the real problem is they’re being used to scam innocent people,” before detailing how scammers are using the fake stories as clickbait to sell products.
Who Was Dr. Phil’s First Wife?
Before meeting and marrying Robin, Dr. Phil was married to a woman by the name of Debbie Higgins McCall. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1950, Debbie was the daughter of a farmer father and a housewife mother. She was a student at Shawnee Mission North High School, where she played football, and volleyball, and met Dr.Phil.
The high school sweethearts tied the knot on 27 November 1970 at the Roeland Park Southridge Presbyterian Church when they were both 20 years old. It seems that, outside of the confines of a classroom, their relationship was not meant to be as their marriage was annulled in 1973.
In the biography ‘The Making of Dr. Phil: The Straight-Talking True Story of Everyone’s Favorite Therapist’ by Lisa Gutierrez and Sophia Dembling, the reasons why the marriage dissolved were revealed. On top of being “domineering”, Debbie claims that Dr. Phil was controlling (from what she ate to who she spent her time with) and was guilty of infidelity.
It is not clear why divorce proceedings did not go ahead and instead their marriage was annulled. Dr. Phil has never really opened up about it in any detail, and Debbie sadly passed away from cancer in 2014 so those who are interested may never know the truth.
