Bruce Boxleitner has been happily married to publicist Verena King (seen above) since October 2016. But the journey was not easy. King is the third wife of the “Babylon 5” star, whom he married at age 66. Before Boxleitner found his happily ever after, he was married to fellow actors Kathryn Holcomb and Melissa Gilbert. He first became a married man in 1977, at the age of 27. While Holcomb settled into a quiet life, she starred as Boxleitner’s sister in “How the West Was Won” in the 1970s.
Boxleitner and Holcomb welcomed two children, Sam and Lee, in July 1980 and November 1985. However, the two divorced not long after in 1987, amid the end of “Scarecrow and Mrs. King.” It was no coincidence. Boxleitner’s dedication to work and inability to separate himself from his character came at a price. “Instead of leaving Stetson in the trailer, that son of a bitch was always on my back, which ultimately led to the breakup of my marriage,” he told The Spokesman-Review in November 1987 (via TapaTalk). It only took him a few years to find love again with Gilbert – and that was thanks to his ex-wife.
Through Holcomb, Boxleitner met the Star from ‘Little House on the Prairie’ in 1992, just weeks afterward Gilbert is divorced from Bo Brinkman. In 1995, they married and welcomed their son, Michael, after whom they were named Gilbert’s on-screen father, Michael Landonwho had died in 1991. But the marriage was not meant to be. In 2011, Boxleitner and Gilbert are divorced after 16 years. It was a bumpy road, but Boxleitner found the path for him later in life.
After marrying two actors, Bruce Leitner found love with a publicist
Bruce Boxleitner may have had two marriages before settling down with Verena King, but his relationships with his ex-wives have remained civil. After his first ex introduced him to Melissa Gilbert (with whom he is pictured above), he repaid the favor by attending Kathryn Holcomb’s wedding to British stage actor Ian Ogilvy in June 1992. Although Boxleitner hasn’t said much about his split from the “Little House on the Prairie” alum, Gilbert emphasized their mutual love in her public statement about their divorce. “We have loved each other for a long time,” it said (via ABC News).
Boxleitner’s previous experiences must have laid the foundation for his third marriage. In his 1987 interview with The Spokesman-Review, he predicted that marrying another actor might not be the right choice for him. “It seems like very few actors on hit TV shows stay married,” he said. He met his third wife in January 2013, just under two years after his second divorce. King is a publicist who went back to school to become a registered dietitian during her marriage to Boxleitner.
And her husband put aside much of his own life to support her in her new career goals. In the middle of graduation season, King took some time to celebrate her and Boxleitner’s ninth wedding anniversary in 2025, making sure to thank him for his role in her path. “(This) man sacrificed so much for me so I could have a new career,” she wrote in the caption Instagram after. It seems Boxleitner’s love life has found a more stable footing outside of Hollywood.
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