During Hollywood’s golden era, it was not unusual for A-listers to be married more than once (or twice, or even three times), and 60s bombshell Raquel Welch was no exception. The star was married four times – and while one ex became a multi-millionaire property developer, two have since passed away and another is still running her restaurant empire, whatever happened to her exes?
Like many of the oft-married stars of the past, Raquel’s first husband dated before her fame. In fact, she only became Raquel Welch after marrying her high school sweetheart, James Wesley Welch (Jim for short). In his 2010 autobiography, “Beyond the Cleavage,” Raquel wrote that theirs was a love-at-first-sight romance that began when they were just 15. Unfortunately, soon after marrying as teenagers, they realized they wanted other things and divorced in 1964. As for his life after the split, she shared: “Jim became a multi-millionaire real estate developer. He’s married and he and his wife Jean have a son.” That said, he is not in the public eye, so we don’t know much else about him today.
In 1967, Raquel married again, this time to producer Patrick Curtis. Despite being involved and invested in her career early on, Raquel wrote in “Beyond the Cleavage” that the relationship stalled as her star rose and they divorced in 1970. But they appeared to be on friendly terms in 1974 when Rolling Stone asked Curtis if his ex could really act, and he clapped back: “Can Steve McQueen act? Can John Wayne?” Curtis continued his work as a producer into the mid-90s and died in 2022.
Raquel did not remarry after her fourth divorce
Raquel Welch tied the knot a third time in 1980, with director André Weinfeld. The pair worked together on a number of Welch’s fitness videos, such as “Raquel: Total Beauty and Fitness” and “Raquel: Body and Mind,” and were together for a number of years, only divorcing in 1990. However, they remained friendly even after their split, and in 2015, Weinfeld shared in an interview with Closer weekly magazine”We had a very happy marriage.” As for why they split, he shared that they wanted to live and work in different places, but it was clear there was no anger. What’s more, he joked that because they were husband and wife for a decade, he was the clear “champion” among her exes. He did no more interviews and died in December 2024.
Welch’s last husband was Richard Palmer, the high-profile restaurateur behind Mulberry Street Pizzeria, whom she met at the ESPY Awards. The couple married in 1996 but announced in 2003 that they had separated. Palmer has continued with his pizza business, albeit in an appearance in 2025 “Live Well and Thrive with Mike Torchia,” he revealed that he had Parkinson’s disease. “I’m not going to retire, but I’m definitely going to slow down,” he shared.
As for Welch, she joked that her marriages didn’t work out in an interview with Piers Morgan, who joked, “I don’t think I’m that good at it” (via Trevor Gilbey). Yet The “Legally Blonde” star also told Morgan that she had no regrets about any of her previous attempts. Tragically, Welch died in 2023. She had not remarried, but as she had told Morgan, she was happy. “I’ve had a very nice, beautiful life,” she had said – and that’s what matters most.
