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When David Foster first rose to fame as a member of the pop group Skylark in the 1970s, a lot of people likely assumed that his career wasn’t fated to last. After all, Skylark only lasted a couple of years before it disbanded and it only enjoyed a certain level of success to begin with. As it turned out, however, nobody was going to hold Foster down as he would transition into a truly incredible career as a composer, arranger, musician, and record executive.
Over the years, David Foster’s career has been a massive success which is why he has managed to amass a truly impressive fortune and has become the father of many impressive kids. However, Foster has been romantically linked to several notable women and while many people may be impressed by that, the only reason that is the case is that most of his relationships have failed. As it turns out, Foster believes there is one main reason why so many of his marriages have failed. When it comes to Foster’s current wife, however, Katharine McPhee has revealed what she does to make their marriage work.
Updated on January 20th, 2023 by Abigail Thomas: David Foster was a four-time divorcee when he met Katharine McPhee in 2017. They met at a party Foster was hosting, and it seemed ot be love at first sight. The singer and music producer dated for two years before tying the knot in 2019. Though they have a huge age gap with Foster being 73 years old and McPhee being just 28 years old, they seem completely happy and McPhee has said she does not even think about their age difference. Together they welcomed a baby in February 2021, and Foster was pleasantly surprised by how much he enjoyed raising a child late in life. In December 2022, the married couple released an EP of holiday classics together.
The Reason David Foster Has Been Divorced Many Times
As of the time of this writing, David Foster has been married five times. When it comes to Foster’s first two marriages, very little is known aside from the names of his wives. However, a lot more has been said about Foster's marriage to Linda Thompson which lasted from 1991 until 2005, and his marriage to Yolanda Hadid which went from 2011 until 2017. After all, Thompson and Hadid have both spoken about their time with Foster.
In 2016, Linda Thompson released a memoir titled “A Thing Called Life”. In her book, Thompson revealed that David Foster was “jealous” of her exes and he expected his wife to cater to him. “At times, he had an expectation that I was there to serve and take care of him, to make beds and do housework… He really and truly wanted to be treated like a king, not like a husband or father, which speaks volumes about what he was like to live with, as lovable as he could be.”
Just like Linda Thompson, Yolanda Hadid also released a book which was titled “Believe Me: My Battle With the Invisibility of Lyme Disease”. Based on the title of her book, it should be clear that Hadid’s book was about her battle against Lyme Disease. On top of addressing her health in the book, Hadid wrote about her belief that David Foster couldn’t deal with her battle against Lyme Disease affecting their lifestyle.
“I went from being the funny girlfriend who was up for anything and had endless energy to the wife who is too sick to be by his side. He lost his wingman, his partner in crime, and I feel as if he’s starting to get impatient with my recovery.”
In 2020, a documentary called David Foster: Off the Record was released. In his interviews for that documentary, Foster denied his marriage to Yolanda Hadid ended due to her battle against Lyme Disease. It also is important to note that Hadid has made it clear that what she wrote in her book wasn’t meant to shame Foster. Instead, she simply wanted to write about the strain illness can have on a marriage. Hadid has also said she holds Foster “in really high regards” and she “wishes him only love, health, and happiness”.
When he was interviewed for the aforementioned documentary, Foster was willing to admit that when it comes to relationships, he has a character weakness. “When things get rough or bad, rather than working it out, I run." Clearly, every marriage goes through problems and if Foster hasn’t been willing to work on his relationships, it makes perfect sense that he has been divorced four times.
Why David Foster’s Marriage To Katharine McPhee Is Likely To Last
When the world learned that David Foster was set to get married a fifth time to the singer, songwriter, and actor Katharine McPhee, a lot of people had a big reaction. After all, on top of Foster’s other failed marriages, many people thought there was another reason why Foster and McPhee’s marriage was a bad idea, he is 35 years older than her.
In the trailer for the aforementioned documentary David Foster: Off the Record, Katharine McPhee spoke about how she reacts to her husband’s tendency to run when relationships get hard. “He runs but I come chasing for him. But I did tell him, I said, there are going to be times when I need you to come find me”.
Elsewhere in the same documentary, Katherine McPhee spoke about how her marriage to David Foster is different because she has gotten him to work on their relationship. “My generation is more open to communicating and understanding why you do the things you do. You stick with the things that don’t work and you figure out how to make them work. What we work on together is empathy, having long conversations that he doesn’t want to have.”
Foster and McPhee are clearly going strong. They welcomed a child in February 2021, and Foster spoke out about how much he was enjoying raising a child so late in life. Together they released an EP of holiday classics in December 2022.