Inside Buzz Aldrin’s Love Life and Marriage History: Get to Know the Astronaut’s 3 Ex-Wives
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Astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s job has taken him all over the world and far beyond. Throughout his career, he’s had a few public romances and three marriages. Keep scrolling to meet the former fighter pilot’s three ex-wives.
Who Was Buzz Aldrin’s First Ex-Wife, Joan Archer Aldrin?
During his 21 years of military service, Buzz married his first wife, Joan Archer Aldrin. The pair walked down the aisle in 1954 in Paterson, New Jersey. The couple were still together when he accomplished one of the biggest fetes in American history — becoming the second man to walk on the moon in 1969. Joan described what it was like to watch her former spouse become a national icon after his Apollo 11 mission.
“I had married an engineer and here he was a hero,” she once told the Los Angeles Times. “This was disturbing, but I didn’t understand, and my immediate reaction was anger toward Buzz. I did realize I should have expected it.”
The Dancing With the Stars alum and the Rutgers University graduate welcomed three children together during their marriage: James Michael Aldrin, Janice Ross Aldrin, and Andrew John Aldrin. The former couple divorced in 1974.
After their marriage came to an end, Joan took a job behind the scenes at ABC until her retirement in 1998. She died from natural causes at the age of 84 on July 22, 2015.
“The future will recall Joan Archer Aldrin as a soft-spoken wife and mother, raising three well-behaved, individual-minded children and dealing with both our . . . tribulations with a most admired human acceptance,” Buzz said in a statement after his first wife’s passing.
Who Was Buzz Aldrin’s Second Wife, Beverly Van Zile?
In 1975, Buzz married his second wife, Beverly Van Zile. The pair were married for three years before they were officially divorced in 1978. Not much is known about the details surrounding their marriage and their split. Beverly appeared on the show Tattletales with her husband multiple times in 1975. According to her IMDb page, she died in April 2004.
Who Was Buzz Aldrin’s Third Ex-Wife, Lois Driggs Cannon?
The military veteran wed his third wife, Lois Driggs Cannon, in 1988. The duo met three years earlier at a beach party hosted by their mutual friend. Lois was already a mom to her three children, Lisa Cannon, Brynn Cannon and Bryant Cannon, from her first marriage to Bryant W. Cannon.
During her union with Buzz, which lasted more than two decades, the philanthropist joined her spouse at several red carpet events. The former couple split in 2011 and were officially divorced by 2013. Lois died of natural causes on July 17, 2018, at the age of 88.
