{"id":256844,"date":"2026-08-11T12:16:21","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T12:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/11\/dr-phil-and-robin-mcgraw-on-50-years-of-marriage-faith-and-stepping-away-from-the-spotlight\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T12:16:21","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T12:16:21","slug":"dr-phil-and-robin-mcgraw-on-50-years-of-marriage-faith-and-stepping-away-from-the-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/08\/11\/dr-phil-and-robin-mcgraw-on-50-years-of-marriage-faith-and-stepping-away-from-the-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw on 50 Years of Marriage, Faith and Stepping Away From the Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Ahead of their 50-year wedding anniversary, Dr. Phil<\/a><\/strong> and Robin McGraw<\/strong> are reflecting on their secrets to a successful marriage, their relationship with faith<\/a> and more in a rare interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve truly treasured every year of our life together \u2014 every 10 years of our life together, every momentous occasion, birthdays, holidays,\u201d Robin, 72, exclusively tells Us<\/em> in a joint interview with her husband. \u201cBut this anniversary is a huge accomplishment to us and we\u2019re just really very proud.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil, 75, and Robin went on to discuss the lessons they\u2019ve learned for sustaining a long-lasting union.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cJust ask yourself, what can you do today to make their life a little better? It doesn\u2019t have to be a big thing, but those little things add up,\u201d he shares. \u201cSmall behaviors accumulate to big results across time \u2014 and it means you\u2019re not thinking about yourself. You\u2019re thinking about your partner.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Celebrity Couples Who Have Been Together for 50 Years (Or Longer!)<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tMany stars have golden relationships that have lasted at least 50 years. For instance, Dolly Parton was married to Carl Dean from 1966 to 2025, when he died at the age of 82. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Dr. Phil continues: \u201cA lot of people would be well served if they got out of themselves and focused on their partner more.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to celebrating their marriage milestone<\/a>, Dr. Phil and Robin are also still focused on their careers \u2014 and their philanthropic work.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also certainly intend to rack up some more years as being husband and wife and parents and grandparents,\u201d Dr. Phil tells Us<\/em>, while Robin adds, \u201cOur No. 1 priority is being parents to our children and being grandparents to our grandchildren. I think a celebratory future is what we\u2019re looking forward to.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keep scrolling for Dr. Phil and Robin\u2019s candid conversation with Us<\/em> about their early days as a couple, their lives now out of the spotlight and what they are looking forward to next:<\/p>\n

How do the two of you feel as you prepare to celebrate 50 years of marriage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robin:<\/strong> I get so emotional. I hope I don\u2019t cry through this entire process because it\u2019s been it\u2019s very, very beautiful time for us right now. I\u2019ve talked about it almost for the last year because I do believe it\u2019s a huge milestone and we\u2019re really very proud of ourselves.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> It\u2019s overwhelming when you talk about it because I don\u2019t feel like I\u2019m old enough to be married 50 years. I don\u2019t feel any different than I felt when I was 50. So how could I be married 50 years? It\u2019s really flown by.<\/p>\n

Take Us back to when you started dating. How did you meet?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> Oh, good. I love this question.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> I really wish you hadn\u2019t asked that question.<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> We met because he has a sister that I went to high school with. We\u2019re the same age, [but] we weren\u2019t best friends. We knew each other, we really liked each other and we [crossed paths] after we graduated.<\/p>\n

She told me she was now dating a man that is a pilot from the Air Force base in our town. She said, \u201cHe has a roommate, so why don\u2019t I hook you up with him and we have a double date?\u201d I go to her house to go get ready, but this pilot they\u2019ve hooked me up with gets weathered in somewhere, so I don\u2019t have the date.<\/p>\n

She said, \u201cWell, Doug and I \u2014 and she did go on to marry him, so he is now our brother-in-law \u2014 will have a quick dinner and I\u2019ll come home. You just chill.\u201d The last thing she said was, \u201cOh, but by the way, you have to be really quiet. My brother is in town and he\u2019s been really sick.\u201d I said, \u201cI didn\u2019t even know you had a brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

I go to the kitchen to get a bottle of water and there sits this brother in the family room. The TV is on and I walk through, and he goes, \u201cWho are you?\u201d So we didn\u2019t really start off on a real friendly note, but he said, \u201cWould you like to sit down and watch this movie with me?\u201d I said yes and we\u2019ve been together ever since.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> I didn\u2019t say it quite that harshly.<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> He was very grumpy. I actually asked him, \u201cAre you always this grumpy and rude?\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> Well, we went out the next night.<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> He asked me out the next night. It was our first date and we\u2019ve been together ever since.<\/p>\n

Did you know right away that the other person was The One?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robin:<\/strong> As much grief as I\u2019m giving him about that first night we met, it was love at first sight for me. I knew right then I was going to marry this man. I knew that first night because underneath that big bear was a teddy bear. He was rough and gruff and not very friendly, but I knew he was just a teddy bear. He was really sweet.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> I was sick. What can I tell you? I had a man cold.<\/p>\n

But I have to say that when she first came through, I thought, \u201cAm I delirious? This doesn\u2019t happen.\u201d I\u2019m just sitting here in the den and she comes walking through. I thought there\u2019s got to be something destined here, so I did ask her out. The next night we just went walking around \u2026<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> Here it comes. We\u2019ll never agree on this part.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> We walked right past the church, and just as we\u2019re at the sidewalk that leads straight into the double door, she said, \u201cHow do you feel about marriage?\u201d And I looked at those doors to the church and I looked at her and I thought, \u201cYou mean right now? Did you lead me here to this sidewalk to the church?\u201d I thought, \u201cHoly God!\u201d<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> It did not happen on that first date. It happened on the third date.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> Bulls***. It was the first date.<\/p>\n

Robin: It was the third date and I was serious. I knew I was going to marry him. I needed to know how he felt about marriage because I didn\u2019t want to waste my time or I needed to know how much work I had in front of me because I was going to marry this man.<\/p>\n

You got engaged on Valentine\u2019s Day and married six months later. Were you just excited to finally be husband and wife?<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> Apparently, we made the right decision because it\u2019s been 50 years and we\u2019re still together, have two grown sons and four grandchildren.<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> Being a grandparent has caused us to be what I call in the dessert phase of our life. It\u2019s truly the most beautiful phase of our life. It\u2019s like having dessert every day.<\/p>\n

What do you remember about your wedding day?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robin:<\/strong> We laugh about it now because we were very poor. We both grew up poor, but we created our wedding ceremony for ourselves. We have a wedding picture that we were looking at earlier and my wedding dress cost $100. I had to put it in layaway back then and pay $5 a week for it. He\u2019s wearing a white tuxedo and I still kick myself, like, \u201cWhy did I put him in a white tuxedo?\u201d I\u2019m thinking maybe it was because it was less expensive than renting a black one.<\/p>\n

We got married in the chapel of the church. We had a little reception where we had punch and cookies. But we couldn\u2019t really afford a photographer, so we just had friends and family take the photos.<\/p>\n

Does the date hold any significance?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> Before we got married, I said, \u201cLook, I\u2019m in psychology. You can do nothing with a bachelor\u2019s degree in psychology, you have to at least get a master\u2019s degree so you can practice.\u201d I said, \u201cAt least let me get my master\u2019s degree so I can put a roof over our head.\u201d So I got my master\u2019s degree on August 14, 1976. We got married August 14, 1976. I didn\u2019t waste a minute.<\/p>\n

What about your honeymoon?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> We took a honeymoon and we wound up that night in Juarez, Mexico, at Club Campestre Juarez. It was, like, a 6,000-square-foot room. It had, like, five bedrooms.<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> But then we got to California and part of our honeymoon was to go to The Price Is Right show and we did. We still have the little name tags that you wear. Then many years later, Philip had the honor of presenting Bob Barker \u2026<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> When he retired, I was there. We didn\u2019t get picked for contestants back in the day or we were on the list.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\n
\"Celebrities<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

\n\t\t\t
\n Related: <\/span>Whitney Leavitt and More Stars Who Have Renewed Their Wedding Vows<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\n\t\t\tNo one does a wedding quite like Hollywood\u2019s A-listers, and for some, one ceremony just isn\u2019t enough! Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Enter your email Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us Weekly Deal of [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Have you considered having another ceremony 50 years later?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> We haven\u2019t actually thought of that. Why haven\u2019t I put you in a beautiful black tux and bought a dress instead of putting one on layaway? But we just haven\u2019t. We haven\u2019t really felt like it\u2019s necessary to do that because we\u2019re so proud of our 50 years. We celebrate every anniversary with a wedding cake. It\u2019s just been our tradition.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m really proud of that one ceremony and how it has progressed.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> Her wedding dress was $100 and $315 for her wedding ring. But I see people spend millions on weddings and they last a year. We spent less than $500 bucks on everything and it\u2019s stuck for 50 years. So pretty good Return on Investment.<\/p>\n

What have been some of the biggest challenges you\u2019ve navigated together?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> Every relationship has challenges and it\u2019s how much you invest in something. Probably the scariest moment in my whole life was when our second son, Jordan, was 12 and he got diagnosed with a really bizarre and rare cancer in the shin of his leg. They had to do an operation and put in artificial bone. \u2026 That was probably the most scared and helpless I\u2019ve been in the 75 years of my life.<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> There\u2019s nothing more challenging than to face an ordeal or a trauma with your children. When our first son was born, he was just 3 weeks old and he had to go in for surgery because his stomach was slowly growing shut \u2026 and he was not getting nourished.<\/p>\n

How has your faith helped bring you even closer together during these times?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> We both have a very, very strong faith and we do rely on that every day \u2014 in trauma and in joy. It\u2019s very important to us to have our faith with us. I\u2019ve always believed that whatever we\u2019re going through \u2014 good or bad \u2014 it is because of God\u2019s love. That\u2019s part of a plan and so we question nothing.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> It\u2019s been really important to raise our boys in a faith-based home. I\u2019ve always tried to emphasize that with both of them \u2014 through prayer and conversation \u2014 and we raised them up in the church and now they\u2019re both fathers.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been so proud of the way they\u2019ve stepped up and you see generational legacy carried out.<\/p>\n

After you got married, Dr. Phil\u2019s star was on the rise. How did you navigate that success as a couple?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> I\u2019ve always thought that Philip was brilliant, and when he had this opportunity to take on this new experience in life, I was all for it. I was thrilled. We all were because we thought you needed to share what you know and who you are with the world.<\/p>\n

Being in the public eye obviously leads to outside opinions. What is the biggest misconception people who don\u2019t know you have about you as a couple?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Phil<\/strong>: It\u2019s not fun for anybody, but I\u2019ve never been one of those people that needs to be loved by strangers. It doesn\u2019t mean that you don\u2019t notice it, but we\u2019ve had so many stories written about us. I was identified as a marriage and family [specialist] and all that kind of stuff. There were probably 50 to 100 stories written about us getting a divorce. And here we are, 50 years married. We\u2019ve never even been separated. We\u2019ve never even spoken the D-word in our lives. Never, ever, for even one second.<\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> The only time I\u2019ve been to a courthouse is because I was the national spokesperson for CASA [Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children]. But for me to go to the courthouse was not ever because of this man.<\/p>\n

The only problem with it for me was the photos they would choose to use. It was like, \u201cCan I not get a good photo? Do they have to pick these photos?\u201d I\u2019ll never forget the one time I got a good photo, I made the best dinner that night.<\/p>\n

What would the outside world be most surprised about when it comes to you as individuals and your marriage? What does a typical Friday night look like for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robin:<\/strong> A Friday night for us is he works really hard all day. He plays tennis in the evenings and we have a tennis court in our backyard in our Dallas home. He\u2019ll come in and we order food that we enjoy from a restaurant in town \u2014 I don\u2019t cook anymore. I cooked for 40 years and I don\u2019t cook that much anymore.<\/p>\n

But he has the food apps on his phone. He\u2019s tried to put them on my phone, but I refuse because I don\u2019t want to be responsible for getting the food that we\u2019re going to eat in the evening. He has to do that.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> We really enjoy our home. We have friends that we love to spend time with and we love being home alone too. We stay busy, but we\u2019re pretty much homebodies. We still have our home in Beverly Hills and we have a home here in Texas. But you\u2019ve never seen us on a lot of red carpets because that\u2019s just not something we really do. We\u2019re always invited and we graciously decline.<\/p>\n

If we go out, we may go nowhere.<\/p>\n

What about for your anniversary?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robin:<\/strong> He is taking me to Paris for our anniversary.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> Well, the pressure is on. It\u2019s been 50 years. But we enjoy each other\u2019s company and we enjoy being at home. Right now we have a cat farm after we actually started feeding some community cats around here. At one point, we had 16 cats coming over to get fed.<\/p>\n

Then we realized this is going to get out of control. So we captured them all and had them all spayed or neutered. But we\u2019ve got, like, five cat dishes in a row outside and water. We have to put heaters out there in the winter to keep them warm and fans out.<\/p>\n

And you are still working?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> Yes. Everything now is moving so much in the digital direction. I have a linear network, Envoy TV, but you know, everything is moving so much in the digital direction, so we\u2019re very active on all the streamers. It\u2019s just growing so fast. I thought that it would go well. I had no idea it would go as well as it\u2019s going. So it\u2019s just been amazing.<\/p>\n

Robin, what has been the best part of joining your husband on this professional venture?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Robin:<\/strong> I\u2019ve always said I was there to support him and the entire show, so I didn\u2019t really have a role there. I wasn\u2019t some expert that was a part of the show. I really went there as a support for him. So if I was on the show, it was because I was just there as a woman, a wife, a mother, a grandmother. So if I contributed in any way, it was so that I could just be myself.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> I think she\u2019s really understating her role. A big part of my demo has always been women \u2014 mothers and wives \u2014 and Robin has always been my feminine side. She has been one of the most important voices and ambassadors in fighting domestic violence from the standpoint of women and children. So to say she didn\u2019t really have a role other than just kind of be there to cheer me on, there are a lot of people \u2014 including me \u2014 that would disagree with that. She has played a vital role in developing the Dr. Phil brand and making sure that it was balanced from the feminine side and being a leading voice in the fight against domestic violence.<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil, after spending your career helping couples, is there one piece of insight you picked up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> [Going back to Robin\u2019s advocacy], the opportunity to take her wisdom forward and share it with others is what makes it all worthwhile. Robin has been a vital part of that and I\u2019ve learned from it. That\u2019s why I\u2019m not quitting.<\/p>\n

I feel like I have things left to say and I hope when people look at us \u2014 we don\u2019t hold ourselves out as some paragon of mental health or marital bliss \u2014 but I do think having gotten together and stayed together for 50 years and raised kids that went through it all and became good fathers and husbands, it\u2019s maybe a place for people to look and say, \u201cYou can do this, and you can make it pay off. And there is a light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n

I hope we can be good role models in that regard. Not that we\u2019re perfect, because we\u2019re not. We don\u2019t strive for perfection. But I hope that we give people some hope that there\u2019s something out there to strive for.<\/p>\n

You are still just as booked and busy.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> My career \u2026 I get to do it. I don\u2019t have to do it. It\u2019s not something I have to do. So I look forward to it every day. And Robin supported me in everything I\u2019ve ever done. That\u2019s no small deal. That is no small deal to have a partner that supports you in everything you do.<\/p>\n

If you could go back and give your younger selves one piece of relationship advice, what would it be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Robin:<\/strong> The advice I would give to my younger self is probably not [to] carry into what worked in my childhood, expecting it to work in my marriage. I was a bit spoiled or pampered growing up. So pouting worked for me. If I didn\u2019t get my way or didn\u2019t get what I wanted, I just pouted and my father would give in right away.<\/p>\n

I thought it would work with my husband and it did not work with him. He just couldn\u2019t tolerate it. He said, \u201cIf I do or say something that upsets you \u2014 within reason \u2014 I promise you that if you just tell me, I will never do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> I would tell myself to be more patient, because patience is not my strong suit. Professionally, I am patient. Personally, I don\u2019t have patience. I want everything done right now. I would be more patient and I would probably be more outgoing because I\u2019m very, very shy.<\/p>\n

People often ask about the \u201csecret\u201d to a lasting marriage. Is there something you try to implement in your marriage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n
\"Dr.<\/div>
Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Dr. Phil:<\/strong> In a marriage, you get out of it what you put into it. If you wake up every day and say, \u201cWhat can I do today to make her life better?\u201d It doesn\u2019t have to be buy[ing] her a new car or send[ing] her flowers.<\/p>\n

Like, there are certain things \u2014 and I don\u2019t know if it matters as much to her as it does to me. But there\u2019s something about her sitting in front of dirty dishes. I think she should have better than that. So I will clear those away if I go by and see it. That would just make things better if she had a nice clear space.<\/p>\n

\n
\n\t\"\"
\n\t\"\"<\/p>\n