NFL Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw is known for being one of the best quarterbacks of all time, but did you know that he’s had as many wives as he does Super Bowl titles? He married his fourth wife Tammy in 2014, and despite their long relationship, we can’t help but wonder if she’s really The One or if there are future wives to come. Find out what we know about Tammy Bradshaw and her marriage to the football legend.
Terry Bradshaw Has Been Married Four Separate Times
Bradshaw married his first wife, former Miss Teenage America Melissa Babish, in 1972, two years after being the number one pick in the NFL Draft. The union lasted 18 months.
His next relationship fared slightly better. From 1976 to 1983, Bradshaw was married to Olympic figure skater JoJo Starbuck. The two found common ground in their Christianity, and he proposed two weeks after she first approached him.
But Starbuck wasn’t crazy about trading life as an Ice Capades performer for housewife duties at his Shreveport ranch.
“The men down there are a little bit chauvinistic, and that tends to make it more difficult for me,” she told the New York Times. “Down there, the women are in the kitchen cooking all day, and the men are out on the ranch, looking at the animals. I stay in the kitchen, too, but it’s not easy… Just from watching [my widowed mom] and seeing how strong and independent she was, I thought that was how a woman is.”
Bradshaw married his third wife, family attorney Charla Hopkins, the same year as his divorce from Starbuck. The couple had two children together, daughters Rachel and Erin. Unfortunately, the third time wasn’t a charm and they divorced in 2009.
Bradshaw immediately began dating Tammy Alice, but he was in no rush to watch another bride walk down the aisle for him. The couple had a long courtship before tying the knot in 2014.
Who Is Tammy Bradshaw?
Little is known about Tammy Bradshaw (born Tameria Alice) except that she’s a former model. Unlike Bradshaw’s former wives, Tammy lived a fairly quiet life before she met the football star. However, we do know that around the same time she met her future husband, she had just lost her son (from a previous marriage) to a drug overdose.
Between Tammy’s grieving and Bradshaw’s failed marriages, it was probably wise for the couple to take things slowly.
“We dated 13 years, never lived together,” Bradshaw told Closer Weekly in August 2019. “[We were both] coming out of bad divorces and when I was getting close to her, I’d run and hide for six weeks, then come running back. I said, ‘There’s nobody getting their hands around my heart again.’ I fought her for 13 years, and to her credit, not one time ever did she ever say, ‘Where’s this going?'”
Tammy isn’t one to ask questions. In fact, in 2020, she confessed to People that she dated Bradshaw for quite a while before she learned that he was famous.
“When we first started dating, I’d go to his house and… there’s number 12s (his jersey number) on the sconces… and a big 12 on the gate… so finally after three months I was like, ‘What’s up with the number 12?'”
Check out her confession in the interview below:
Terry Bradshaw Says He “Fell In Love With His Best Friend”
An older and wiser Bradshaw seems to be in it for the long haul with Tammy. “I went to counseling and found out that all my [ex-]wives were the same, and it wasn’t good!” he confessed to Closer Weekly. “This time I married my best friend,” he said. “Everyone should!”
Determined to do things differently this time around, Bradshaw keeps the love alive with creative romantic gestures. For instance, when the COVID-19 pandemic stood in the way of an anniversary trip to Paris, he took her to Paris, Texas instead.
And it’s not just Tammy to whom he’s loyal. Bradshaw wants to be a fun and dependable dad in this next chapter of his life, so he takes every opportunity to enjoy his big, blended (and very blonde) family. Take this 2019 appearance on the Family Feud, where he’s joined by Tammy, her daughter from a previous marriage, and his own two daughters from his third marriage in a face-off against Olympic skater Adam Rippon’s family. Tammy’s performance comes as a complete surprise to host Steve Harvey:
Terry And Tammy Bradshaw Currently Star In Their Own Reality Show
Terry Bradshaw is the last person we’d expect to fill Kris Jenner‘s shoes, but in September 2020, The Bradshaw Bunch premiered on E!
“Dad is 70 now, and when I’m gone, they’ll have this to look back on and laugh at,” Bradshaw told Closer Weekly before its debut. “It’s going to be Erin, Rachel, Tammy, my stepdaughter Lacey. One son-in-law is a chef. Erin’s husband is a horse trainer and my oldest daughter is selling real estate and dating a really good guy, who could become my other son-in-law. It’s funny.”
It turns out he was right. The Bradshaw Bunch was so well received that it’s been renewed for a second season. A release date is set for later this year. After all that he’s achieved on the football field, it’s nice to see the NFL hero having fun in retirement.