What Liza Minnelli’s four ex husbands have said about her – as she celebrates her 80th birthday

The ‘I Still Call Australia Home’ singer married Liza in 1967 and the pair remained close throughout his life, despite their divorce in 1974. Though Liza says they “continued to genuinely love and respect each other in the years ahead”. She wrote about discovering her husband in bed with another man in her memoir ‘Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!’, saying that the discovery “didn’t break them” and that they “still felt enormous love for each other”. She explained: “Neither of us wanted the marriage to end.”

Peter Allen spoke positively of both his ex-wife Liza and mother-in-law Judy Garland. He described Liza as his “sanctuary” and praised her work ethic in pursuing entertainment. “Liza always said she wasn’t interested in becoming a superstar, but she worked very hard towards it,” he explained. “I’ve never seen anyone work so hard.” Peter passed away in 1992 from AIDS-related illness.

Liza, daughter of Dorothy, and Jack Haley Jr, son of the Tin Man aka Jack Haley, wed in 1974, divorcing 5 years later. “Jack was the first one to remind the general public of our heritage,” Liza said at the time of Jack Jr’s death in 2001. “America’s royalty is our entertainers, who have given so much to the world.”

Liza has spoken about her second husband in only the best of terms since. Speaking to singer Michael Feinstein for Interview magazine, she called Jack “the loveliest man, the gentlest and most interesting”. The actor passed away at the age of 67 from respiratory failure.

Liza’s third marriage was also her longest, lasting over a decade. She tied the knot with sculptor Mark Gero in 1979, remaining wed to the ex-manager until 1992. While she hoped to welcome children, the singer suffered three miscarriages and delivered a stillborn baby when just 5 months pregnant during her marriage to Mark. 

She details the event in her new memoir, explaining: “I prayed every day that our child would survive, but it was not to be. I was rushed to a hospital in Reno, Nevada, where I went through the wrenching experience of a stillbirth.” She added: “To this day, I can’t talk about these events without sadness and anxiety. The inability to become a mother is a tragedy I will never get over.”

Arguably her most high profile relationship, Minnelli’s fourth and final marriage was to TV personality and producer David Gest in 2002. They separated just a year later and were divorced in 2007. She’s since described him as “fast-talking, wheeler-dealing” conman in her memoir, saying: “What kind of fool was I? The biggest one who ever lived. When I look in the rear-view mirror, I realise I should never have fallen for this crap.”

Following their $3.2 million wedding, with Michael Jackson in attendance as best man and maid of honour Elizabeth Taylor, Liza said every aspect of her life was controlled and her new groom stole her “confidence, freedom and independence”. She’s since sworn to “never marry again”. David died from a stroke at the age of 62 in 2016.

Judy Garland found fame at an early age, starring in The Wizard of Oz at just 16 years old. She struggled with addiction throughout her life, and it’s a struggle that directly affected Liza as her eldest child. In her memoir, Liza says: “At 13, I was my mother’s caretaker – a nurse, doctor, pharmacologist, and psychiatrist rolled into one.”

She describes their complicated relationship to fame, saying: “Behind the scenes, Mama was proud, confused, and scared. She was holding the torch in front of me but had no intention of passing it.” Judy passed from an accidental overdose at just 47, when her daughter was 23. Liza says that she cherishes the memory of her mother and her continued presence in her life. “My beautiful mother is still here with me. She always will be. Through the good times and bad. We talk to each other every day. And we laugh like hell.”