Gavin MacLeod’s Wife: His Marriages to Joan Rootvik and Patti Kendig Explained
If you searched Gavin MacLeod wife, you want the straight timeline on who he married and how his relationships unfolded. Gavin MacLeod was married twice in terms of spouses, but his second marriage included a divorce and a later remarriage to the same woman. His first wife was Joan F. Rootvik, and his second wife was Patti Kendig, whom he later remarried and remained with until his death.
Who is Gavin MacLeod?
Gavin MacLeod was an American actor best known for two roles that made him a household name: Murray Slaughter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Captain Merrill Stubing on The Love Boat. Because his work was so warmly associated with comfort-TV, many people feel like they “grew up with him,” which is part of why interest in his personal life—especially his marriage—never really faded.
At the same time, MacLeod wasn’t the kind of celebrity who turned home life into content. That means most of what’s publicly known about his relationships comes from consistent biographical summaries, interviews, and a few widely repeated, well-documented milestones.
Who was Gavin MacLeod’s wife?
Gavin MacLeod’s wife at the time of his death was Patti Kendig. Before Patti, he was married to Joan F. Rootvik. In a clean, accurate summary:
- First wife: Joan F. Rootvik (married 1955, divorced 1972)
- Second wife: Patti Kendig (married 1974, divorced 1982, remarried 1985, together until his death)
That’s the core answer most people are looking for, but the details become more meaningful once you understand the family timeline and why the second marriage had two chapters.
First wife: Joan F. Rootvik
Gavin MacLeod’s first wife was Joan F. Rootvik, a dancer who worked as a Rockette. Their relationship began before he was famous, back when he was still trying to get traction in entertainment and taking jobs to support himself while building an acting career.
They married in 1955, which places their marriage in the “pre-celebrity” chapter of his life—the part most fans never saw, when ambition is high and stability is still being built. Their marriage lasted until 1972, when they divorced.
For many public figures, the first marriage is often the one that experiences the most strain from a career’s steepest climb. Success doesn’t arrive gently; it arrives with travel, long hours, financial risk, and constant uncertainty—exactly the kind of conditions that can wear down a relationship even when love is real.
Children with Joan Rootvik
MacLeod and Joan Rootvik had four children—commonly summarized as two sons and two daughters. In widely reported profiles, the children are often named as Keith, David, Julie, and Meghan. If you’re searching for family facts, this is one of the clearest anchors: Gavin MacLeod’s children are consistently attributed to his first marriage.
This also explains why later relationship summaries don’t typically list children with Patti Kendig. Most biographies and retrospectives present MacLeod’s family structure as four children from his first marriage, followed by a long later-life marriage to Patti.
Second wife: Patti Kendig
Gavin MacLeod’s second wife was Patti Kendig (also frequently referred to as Patti MacLeod after marriage). They married in 1974, during a period when MacLeod’s career momentum was strong and his public visibility was growing.
Because MacLeod’s most iconic roles were tied to warm, reassuring characters, fans sometimes assume his personal life followed that same smooth path. It didn’t. His marriage to Patti included a difficult rupture and a later reunion—one of the defining personal-life arcs that gets repeated whenever people write about him beyond the roles.
The divorce and the remarriage
MacLeod and Patti divorced in 1982. Then, after several years, they found their way back to each other and remarried in 1985. This “two-part marriage” is the reason some summaries will loosely say he was “married three times,” even though it was two spouses, with Patti appearing twice in the timeline.
What made their story stand out is that the remarriage wasn’t framed as a quiet, private restart. It was often described as a real turning point that included personal growth, renewed commitment, and a more stable foundation than they had during the earlier years.
What led to their reconciliation?
In public accounts and interviews, MacLeod often tied the improvement in his life—especially his ability to rebuild the marriage—to deeper personal changes. He spoke about struggles that affected his health and relationships, including alcohol use, and he also spoke openly about faith becoming a stabilizing force in his life during the mid-1980s.
The important point isn’t to sensationalize it. The important point is to understand why the timeline looks unusual: the divorce wasn’t simply “the end.” For them, it became a painful pause that eventually turned into a second attempt with more maturity and clearer boundaries.
That’s why, when people ask “Who was Gavin MacLeod’s wife?” the real answer often includes an emotional subtext: Patti Kendig wasn’t only a spouse name in a bio—she was the partner he returned to and stayed with for decades afterward.
Was Patti Kendig Gavin MacLeod’s wife when he died?
Yes. After their remarriage, Gavin MacLeod and Patti Kendig remained together for the rest of his life. When people refer to “Gavin MacLeod’s wife,” they are most often referring to Patti, because she was his longtime partner through his later years and the wife he was married to at the time of his death in 2021.
Why “Gavin MacLeod wife” is sometimes confusing online
This topic gets messy online for one simple reason: some pages don’t explain the “divorced and remarried” part clearly. You’ll see variations like:
- “He was married twice” (two spouses)
- “He was married three times” (counting the remarriage to Patti as a separate marriage event)
Both can be describing the same reality. If you want the clean version: two wives, with the second marriage having a divorce and later a remarriage.
A simple timeline you can trust for writing or bios
If you’re writing a short bio, caption, or quick explainer and you want wording that stays accurate without overcomplicating things, this structure works well:
- Gavin MacLeod married Rockette Joan F. Rootvik in 1955; they divorced in 1972 and had four children.
- He married actress Patti Kendig in 1974; they divorced in 1982, remarried in 1985, and remained together until his death.
This keeps the focus on the verified essentials: who, when, and how the timeline fits together.
FAQ about Gavin MacLeod’s wife
Who was Gavin MacLeod’s wife?
Gavin MacLeod’s wife in his later years was Patti Kendig. His first wife was Joan F. Rootvik.
How many times was Gavin MacLeod married?
He had two spouses, but his second marriage included a divorce and a remarriage to the same woman, Patti Kendig.
Did Gavin MacLeod have children?
Yes. He had four children—two sons and two daughters—most commonly attributed to his first marriage with Joan Rootvik.
When did Gavin MacLeod remarry Patti Kendig?
After divorcing in 1982, they remarried in 1985 and stayed together for the rest of his life.
Bottom line
The clean answer to Gavin MacLeod wife is this: Gavin MacLeod was first married to Joan F. Rootvik, and later married Patti Kendig—divorcing once, then remarrying her and remaining together until his death. If you’re writing about him, that two-wife timeline (with a remarriage) is the most accurate and useful way to summarize his personal life without adding speculation or filler.
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