Why Did Jerry Springer and Wife Micki Velton Divorce?

Jerry Springer, known as the host of the salacious daytime TV talk show, The Jerry Springer Show, died on April 27, 2023. He’s survived by his daughter and his ex-wife, Micki Velton. So, why did Jerry Springer and Micki Velton divorce after over 20 years of marriage? Here’s what we know about their relationship.

Why did Jerry Springer and his ex-wife, Micki Velton, divorce?

Jerry Springer hasn’t talked much about his relationship with his ex-wife, Micki Velton, or his divorce. According to Buzz South Africa, Springer and Velton met on a blind date in 1969. Velton was just 23 years old at the time and worked as an administrative aid for Procter & Gamble, and Springer was going for a seat in the Cincinnati City Council. After four years of dating, they tied the knot in 1973.

Their marriage lasted about 21 years before they divorced in 1994. While some Springer fans believed that his scandal involving sex workers may have led to their divorce, this likely isn’t the case. They were able to move on from the scandal, as they stayed married for decades afterward. It seems they most likely grew apart, as they both married at a very young age.

It is unknown what Velton does for work currently or if she lived near Springer in the Chicago area. Today, she’s 77 years old. She also hasn’t publicly commented on Springer’s death.

He voluntarily testified after paying sex workers during his marriage to Micki Velton

As previously mentioned, Jerry Springer and Micki Velton’s divorce likely had nothing to do with Springer’s sex work scandal. But the scandal still hit the news.

The Cincinnati Enquirer reports that in 1974, a popular political columnist reported that a “Cincinnati politico” was caught up in a “two-state VICE probe.” While Springer wasn’t mentioned in the column then, he resigned from his position as a councilman that same day as the report. Springer said he was resigning due to “very personal family considerations.”

Later, Springer willingly testified in court, as he stated he voluntarily contacted the FBI after paying for sex workers with two personal checks in December 1973 and January 1974. At the time, he’d been married for a year.

While the scandal could’ve easily threatened Springer’s political career, he came back strong when he won back his seat on the council in 1975. He then served as the mayor of Cincinnati in 1977.

It’s unclear how the scandal affected his marriage to Velton. Springer seemingly didn’t take this information to the public, and ultimately, he and Velton got through it.

Did Jerry Springer ever remarry? It doesn’t appear so

If Jerry Springer very remarried after his divorce, he didn’t make the knowledge public. It seems highly unlikely that he secretly remarried. But during an interview with HollywoodLife in 2021, he stated he had a wife.

“Well, so if I just keep looking for new jobs, one of them I’m going to nail,” he said. “I’m telling you, wait ’til I’m 96, I’ve got an idea, I’m going to hit the nursing homes, and that’s going to be my tour. No comedian does a tour of nursing homes. And I’m thinking if I did that, first of all, I wouldn’t have any problem then with keep telling the same old jokes. Because no one in the home’s going to remember you. That’s my new, in fact, my wife and I, we talk about it. And when we’re looking for a home, it’s got to be one that has a social program.”

It’s possible Springer was married and never told the media. But it seems more likely that he was referring to someone he was dating at the time.

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