How Many Times Has David Foster Been Married and Why Did He Divorce His Ex-Wives?

David Foster is a legendary singer, composer, and music producer. He has worked with countless famous artists and won numerous awards for his work.

Aside from being a famed musician, Foster is also known for his personal life. He is married to singer Katharine McPhee, though Foster has also been married to other women before tying the knot with his current wife. As such, many people might be wondering: How many times has Foster been married exactly and why did his past marriages end in divorces?

David Foster has been married 5 times

Foster has been married five times in the past 50 years.

His first marriage was to B.J. Cook, a singer and writer. According to Whosdatedwho, Foster and Cook married in 1972 and divorced in 1981. They have one daughter named Amy.

In 1982, Foster married Rebecca Dyer, with whom he had three daughters: Sara, Erin, and Jordan. Foster and Dyer divorced in 1986 after four years together.

Foster’s third marriage is still his longest one by far. He married actor Linda Thompson in 1991 following her divorce to Caitlyn Jenner (then known as Bruce Jenner). Foster became a stepfather to Thompson’s children with Jenner: Brody and Brandon. The couple divorced in 2005 after 14 years together.

Foster’s fourth wife is Yolanda Hadid, who was previously married to real estate mogul Mohamed Hadid. Yolanda Hadid also became a star on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and Foster appeared on the show multiple times as well. Foster also became a stepfather to Hadid’s three children: Gigi, Bella, and Anwar. However, Foster and Hadid filed for divorce in 2015, with their divorce finalized in 2017.

Foster married his fifth wife, Katharine McPhee, in June 2019. In February 2021, the couple welcomed a son named Rennie.

What were the reasons for David Foster’s multiple divorces?

It’s not clear why Foster’s first two marriages ended, but Thompson and Hadid have spoken out about some things they were not happy about their marriages to Foster.

In her 2016 memoir, A Little Thing Called Life, Thompson shared that Foster was “jealous” of her exes. Additionally, Thompson said he expected her to cater to his every need.

She wrote, as reported by AllAboutTRH: “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.”

Meanwhile, Hadid seemed to claim in her 2017 book, Believe Me: My Battle With the Invisibility of Lyme Disease, that she and Foster divorced because he couldn’t handle her struggle with Lyme disease. She was diagnosed with the condition in 2012.

“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,” Hadid wrote, according to BravoTV. “He lost his wingman, his partner in crime, and I fell as if he’s starting to get impatient with my recovery.”

However, Foster has always denied he left Hadid because of her illness. As reported by The List, he said in his July 2020 documentary David Foster: Off the Record, “How can I leave a sick woman? The fact of the matter is that was not the reason I left.”

David Foster admits he has faults of his own

In the documentary David Foster: Off the Record, the musician also admitted to having some faults that might have contributed to his divorces. For example, Foster shared that he is a “runner” who often thinks “the grass is greener on the other side” when hardships arise in a relationship.

It was also revealed that Foster has trouble emotionally connecting with people—something that McPhee is trying to help him with.

“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,” McPhee shared. “What we work on together is empathy, having long conversations that he doesn’t want to have.”

Foster’s family seems to approve of his relationship with McPhee, with his oldest daughter Amy saying, “Katharine McPhee does not need David Foster – very talented – very successful – has her own money – does not need him – is with him purely because she loves him. They are a very good match.”