Who Is Don Johnson's Wife? All About Kelley Phleger

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Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger have been married since 1999

<p>Jim Spellman/WireImage</p> Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson attend the screening after party for the "Book Club" on May 15, 2018 in New York City.

Jim Spellman/WireImage

Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson attend the screening after party for the "Book Club" on May 15, 2018 in New York City.

Don Johnson has been with his wife, Kelley Phleger, for more than two decades.

The Book Club actor tied the knot with Phleger in 1999. The two have since welcomed three children together: Atherton Grace, Jasper and Deacon Johnson.

“Obviously, she’s a saint,” Johnson told Parade of Phleger in May 2023. “I was with Bob Dylan one time, and I was having relationship issues, and Bob looks up at me and goes, ‘Well, see, love is about kindness, trust and respect, isn’t it?’ And that’s the embodiment of Kelley.”

He added, “We’re lovers and friends and it’s fun. She’s an amazing woman."

While Johnson and Phleger share snippets of their relationship on social media, and he has mentioned her in interviews, their life together is more private than Johnson’s previous marriage. The Miami Vice star was married to actress Melanie Griffith first in 1976 before splitting the same year, and again from 1989 to 1996. During their second marriage, they welcomed their only child together, actress Dakota Johnson.

Related: Don Johnson's 5 Kids: All About Jesse, Dakota, Atherton, Jasper and Deacon

In addition to his children with Phleger and Griffith, he also has a son, Jesse Johnson, from a relationship with Patti D'Arbanville.

So who is Don Johnson's wife? Here's everything to know about Kelley Phleger and her relationship with the actor.

She is a Berkeley graduate

Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures/Shutterstock Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson at 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' film premiere, Los Angeles July 22 2019.
Eric Charbonneau/Sony Pictures/Shutterstock Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson at 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' film premiere, Los Angeles July 22 2019.

Phleger has a degree from the University of California, Berkeley. After her collegiate career ended, she worked as a teacher at a Montessori nursey school in California.

She comes from a well-known family

<p>Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media/Getty</p> Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson.

Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media/Getty

Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson.

A former debutante, Phleger is the daughter of Jean Phleger and the late lawyer Atherton Macondray Phleger, who was also a Wells Fargo board member until his death in 1988. Phleger’s grandfather, Herman Phleger, was a U.S. delegate to the United Nations and a founder of the law firm Brobeck, Phleger and Harrison.

The Phleger name is also affiliated with the Phleger Estate, a public park in San Mateo County, California. Following the death of Herman in 1984, his wife, Mary Elena Phleger initiated plans for their estate to be turned into public grounds, according to the National Parks Service. The park includes redwood trees and hiking trails.

Johnson and Phleger met at a party

<p>Don Johnson Instagram</p> Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger.

Don Johnson Instagram

Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger.

Phleger and Johnson first met in the mid-90s. They were reportedly introduced by producer Jo Schuman Silver at a birthday party for then-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown, but didn't start dating until the fall of 1997.

"Don came up to me at Willie's birthday party and said that the minute he laid eyes on Kelley, he knew he was going to marry her," Schuman Silver recalled to PEOPLE in 1999. "I don't know what she thought, but I'm sure she found him very attractive."

In April 1998, Phleger was spotted wearing a 5 1/2-carat diamond engagement ring. They got engaged in Aspen, Colorado, per the San Francisco Examiner.

They got married in 1999

<p>Don Johnson Instagram</p> Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger on their wedding day.

Don Johnson Instagram

Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger on their wedding day.

Johnson and Phleger got married on April 29, 1999, at the home of Ann and Gordon Getty in San Francisco, where Phleger is from. However, the couple kept their plans to wed a secret from their 85 guests, as the invitation for the evening alluded to nothing more than a black-tie affair of dinner and dancing to celebrate the actor and his fiancée.

They hosted the ceremony in a courtyard, with the bride wearing an off-white Chanel princess gown embroidered with butterflies. Brown officiated the ceremony, while actor Robert Wagner was Johnson’s best man. Johnson's daughter Dakota and son Jesse were also in the wedding party.

"Don exuded happiness," a friend of the newlyweds told PEOPLE after the wedding. "The expression on his face will stay in my mind forever."

Phleger previously dated Gavin Newsom

<p>David M. Benett/Getty</p> Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger attend the "Foxcatcher" party during the 67th Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2014.

David M. Benett/Getty

Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger attend the "Foxcatcher" party during the 67th Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2014.

Before marrying Johnson, Phleger was in a relationship with now-California Governor Gavin Newsom, though they broke up around 1997.

At the time, Newsom was a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He would go on to become the mayor of San Francisco from 2004 to 2011, before becoming the lieutenant governor of California from 2011 to 2019. He was elected governor in 2019 and has served in the position since.

Phleger and Johnson have three children

<p>Kevin Winter/Getty</p> Don Johnson, Kelley Phleger and kids Jasper and Atherton arrive at the premiere of Warner Bros.' "Shorts" on August 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.

Kevin Winter/Getty

Don Johnson, Kelley Phleger and kids Jasper and Atherton arrive at the premiere of Warner Bros.' "Shorts" on August 15, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.

Phleger and Johnson have three children together, whom they raised in Santa Barbara, California. Their oldest, Atherton Grace Johnson, who goes by Grace, was born on Dec. 28, 1999. Grace studied photography at the University of Southern California and has worked as a model, walking the runway in a 2021 Gucci show.

The couple’s second child, Jasper Breckenridge Johnson, was born on June 6, 2002. While he has been less in the spotlight than his older sibling, he is known to have had an interest in sports and played basketball in high school before graduating in 2021.

Their youngest child, Deacon James Johnson, was born on April 29, 2006, which happened to be the same day as Phleger and Johnson’s seventh wedding anniversary. Like his siblings, Deacon grew up in Santa Barbara and has a passion for music and sports.

They share sweet moments on social media

<p>Don Johnson Instagram </p> Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger.

Don Johnson Instagram

Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger.

Both Johnson and Phleger give followers a glimpse of their home life on their Instagram accounts. On Father’s Day in 2023, Phleger posted a throwback photo of Johnson with their children from 2006.

“Happy Fathers Day DJ!” she wrote in the caption. “Thank you for all you have done for our beautiful family.”

The prior year, for Mother’s Day, Johnson shared a picture of Phleger and wrote, “The BEST!!! The Mother of all mother’s! And funny as all get out! Love you so… 🌹.”

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