Strange Things About Ric Flair's Marriages

"The Dirtiest Player in the Game," Ric Flair has played the "stylin', profilin', limousine-riding, jet-flying, kiss-stealing, wheelin' n' dealin' son of a gun" for over five decades, starting back in his NWA days, and the character often seems to bleed into Richard Fliehr's real life. In his prime, Flair seemed to collect women like he collected championships, at one point bragging about how many he had been with over the years, and though likely inflated, even his estimate was staggering. 

Despite his womanizing ways, which have gotten him into trouble over the years when he veered into the nonconsensual, Flair settled down not once, not twice, but four times, officially. He even had the world believing he married for a fifth time until he and his most recent long-term partner went their separate ways after a star-studded wedding that didn't actually make their union official.

Flair's love life has been nothing short of unique since he first married Leslie Goodman in August 1971 at the age of 22, well before he became the "Nature Boy" of today. Flair had two long marriages to his first two wives, resulting in his four children, but he was never single for long, always divorcing and re-marrying within a year until he began dating Wendy Barlow, his former valet in WCW. From volatile marriages that led to his third wife spending time in jail, to Flair almost doing time himself following that divorce, to crazy alimony costs, Flair has many stories to tell when it comes to matrimony.

Goodman, Elizabeth Harrell, Tiffany VanDemark, and Jackie Beems were all once married to Flair at one point, with Barlow being the woman who most recently had "The Nature Boy's" heart. With five weddings and five splits, both amicable and nasty, there are plenty of strange things about Flair's marriages.

It may be surprising to some fans, but Flair wasn't always a playboy. His first two marriages lasted quite a long time and resulted in his four children. According to US Census data from 2023, marriages in the United States last an average of 20 years, and Flair's second marriage was his only legal marriage or overall relationship to hit that mark.

Flair was first married to Leslie Goodman, who is the mother of David and Megan. They married in 1971, when Flair was just 22 years old, before Flair even started in the professional wrestling game. A former amateur wrestler in high school, he jumped into training with Verne Gagne the year after he and Goodman wed. The pair were married for 12 years, and during that time, Flair came up in the American Wrestling Association, Jim Crockett Promotions, and the NWA. He was officially "The Nature Boy" by the time he and Goodman divorced in 1983. Flair's first marriage is one of the few that didn't end in dramatic fashion or play out in headlines.

Flair married the mother of Charlotte and the late Reid Fliehr, Elizabeth Harrell, in 1983. The pair were together for 23 years during the time Flair was establishing himself as a major star in WCW and the WWF-turned-WWE. Harrell was married to Flair during the infamous "Plane Ride from Hell," though details of Flair's alleged sexual misconduct on the flight came out much later following their 2006 divorce. The pair had been divorced for six years when their son Reid died of a drug overdose on March 29, 2013.

Flair's fourth marriage to Jaqueline Beems proved to be the most volatile of all his marriages, at least from what the public knows. The pair wed in 2009 after Flair's divorce from his third wife, Tiffany VanDemark, and were only married for five years before separating. While Flair once filed a criminal complaint against VanDemark for allegedly hitting him in the face with a phone charger, his relationship with Beems was reportedly much more violent.

In February 2010, not even a year into their marriage, Beems hospitalized Flair after she allegedly attacked him and left him bloodied and bruised. Beems was arrested in Charlotte, North Carolina, and booked into jail, though she was released later that day. She was accused of punching Flair in the face and kicking and biting him. A local television station reported that Flair was recovering in a hospital after the attack. Police were involved in one of the couple's fights once again in June 2012. Flair called officials to intervene in the fight, but neither Flair nor Beems were taken to jail or the hospital.

Beems and Flair officially divorced in 2014, but Beems would have yet another run-in with the North Carolina law when she was accused of stalking Flair's new girlfriend, Wendy Barlow, in 2013. Beems and Flair were still legally married at the time of the alleged threats, which police said came in the form of harassing phone calls. A warrant was issued for her arrest, and she turned herself in to authorities in July. According to her attorney, Beems just wanted to move on with her life, and she was charged with a misdemeanor. 

Allegedly living up to his "Dirtiest Player in the Game" nickname in his personal life in addition to inside the ring, Beems alleged in their divorce proceedings that Flair had cheated on her numerous times. Beems filed for a legal separation in Mecklenburg County in November 2012 and cited "illicit sexual behavior." According to a local news outlet, Beems said in legal documents that Flair "had numerous intimate relationships with other women during the parties' marriage, to the embarrassment and humiliation of the wife." Beems claimed she had been a "faithful and dutiful wife," but Flair treated her "in a cruel and barbarous manner." According to the documents Beems filed, they had been separated since their second fight, where police were involved in June 2012.

In his ESPN "30 for 30" documentary titled "Nature Boy" that aired in November 2017, Flair claimed he had slept with around 10,000 women throughout the course of his life. Flair was 68 years old at the time of the comment. In the following days, when various other celebrities expressed their doubt about that number, Flair stood by the comment and even went as far as jokingly "doing the math" after saying he "started" in seventh grade. 

The following year, Flair expressed regret over his comments. He said that they were true, but he said he wished he hadn't said it because of his grandkids. At the time, he said he was a reformed one-woman man after starting a relationship with Wendy Barlow.

Dates with celebrity divorces can often get fuzzy and quickly confusing, as dates when a couple officially splits and separates, to when one partner files paperwork through their lawyers, to when the divorce is actually finalized, can take quite some time. One thing about Flair, however, is that he was always remarried the same year his divorce from his previous wife was finalized. As seen with Beems and Barlow, Flair would often have a new girlfriend while his previous relationships' divorce proceedings were playing out.

Flair was married to Goodman from 1971 to 1983, and that year he married Charlotte and Reid's mother, Harrell. They were married until 2006, and then Flair wed VanDemark. Following their divorce in 2009, Flair married Beems. While Flair didn't immediately marry Barlow after his divorce from Beems became official, the pair were dating, and Barlow even appeared alongside Flair on "Celebrity Wife Swap" before he was officially divorced from Beems in 2014.

As his love life stands now at his current age of 76, Flair hasn't gone through an official divorce since 2014. His previous antics of jumping between marriages had a lasting effect, however, as it's often still brought up in WWE in regards to his daughter, Charlotte, and her personal life. 

Even on the salary of one of the biggest professional wrestling legends in the world, one wedding would be expensive; nevertheless, four. On top of the costs of multiple wedding ceremonies, the divorce expenses that Flair had to deal with were hefty. "The Nature Boy" sat down with legendary boxer Mike Tyson on an episode of his "Hotboxin' With Mike Tyson" podcast and explained how much his marriages and divorces really cost him.

"Two or maybe 2.8 million in alimony, and which means 2 million in lawyer fees, you know. You know what it is. It's a game," said Flair. [H/T Essentially Sports]

Flair was also accused of owing his fourth wife, Beems, more than $32,000 in spousal support and was held in contempt of court. In July 2013, a warrant was issued for Flair's arrest. According to Deadspin, Flair was paying two of his other ex-wives around $22,000 a month at the time. Flair said that he hadn't paid Beems because he hadn't been working for months following the death of his son, Reid, and said he was in the hospital himself for a month following a blood clot.

Beems turned herself in to police following the warrant for her arrest over the series of threatening phone calls made to Barlow during the time Flair's warrant was issued. According to a local news site, Beems was at one point holding on to two of Flair's signature ring robes while awaiting payment, but returned them to his lawyer's office. Beems and Flair's divorce documents indicated Flair was making over $1 million a year when he was failing to make payments to his fourth ex-wife. Flair has also had ongoing issues with the IRS, stemming from not paying taxes on his earnings back in the 1980s.

While the rest of Flair's ex-wives had nothing to do with the professional wrestling business, "The Nature Boy" actually first met Wendy Barlow when they worked together in WCW. Barlow portrayed "Fifi the French Maid" on air and was an important part of Flair's talk show segment. Fifi was a stereotypical French maid, complete with outfit and accent, who would appear alongside Flair during "A Flair for the Gold" segments that he started when he returned to WCW in 1993 after a brief stint in Vince McMahon's company. Flair, who had never been known for a talk show segment prior, was initially unable to wrestle upon his return to WCW in February 1993 due to a non-compete clause, but was still on programming with the bit alongside Fifi.

"A Flair for the Gold" would air on "WCW Saturday Night," with Barlow playing her part as Fifi in the background, dusting or serving drinks while Flair interviewed various guests. Barlow was also present, and even stayed in character, during "A Flair for the Gold's" most infamous segment, the debut of the Shockmaster. After her stint in WCW, Barlow left the professional wrestling business and stayed out of the spotlight until it was revealed she and Flair were in a relationship many years later.

Flair and Barlow's relationship wasn't always conventional in the 13 years they were together. Flair confirmed during the height of the COVID pandemic, after being criticized for not wearing a mask while interacting with a Starbucks employee, that Barlow had contracted the virus. Flair, who had previously been in very ill health prior to the pandemic, said he hadn't gotten the virus from his wife because they lived separately in Flair's large home in Georgia.

Flair confirmed to the New York Post that Barlow lived on the third floor of the home, which is where she was quarantined at the time, and he lived in the basement of the 5,000 square foot home. He told the outlet that his health was "excellent" and any other claims about his wellbeing were incorrect.

Barlow contracting COVID wasn't the first time the couple had been through a health scare. In August 2017, Barlow stayed by Flair's side after the then 68-year-old was rushed to the hospital, where it was revealed he was in the early stages of kidney failure and close to suffering congestive heart failure as a result of years of alcohol abuse. Flair had previously revealed he suffers from alcoholic cardiomyopathy, or damage to the heart due to alcohol abuse. After being put in a medically induced coma, Flair was given only a 20 percent chance of survival. When Barlow and Flair went their separate ways in 2024, Flair couldn't thank her enough for always being by his side during his medical issues.

Flair and Barlow surprisingly split in September 2024 after a 13-year relationship, but even more surprising was the revelation that the couple had never actually been married. The pair held a lavish ceremony in September 2018 on the rooftop of a hotel in Rosemary Beach, Florida. Both Flair and Barlow wore white, and the ceremony was even partially livestreamed on Facebook for those who couldn't attend. Flair walked down the aisle to "Ric Flair Drip," the rap song inspired by his flashy career and lifestyle by Migos' Offset and Metro Boomin. The Undertaker was in attendance, as well as Michael Hayes and Dennis Rodman.

The pair had previously broken up in January 2022 when "People" magazine first revealed they never legally wed. Flair told the magazine that it "was just a ceremony" and they were never married. Barlow confirmed to "People" that they never applied for a marriage certificate. Flair announced their 2024 split on his X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram accounts, writing in his usual way of capitalizing every letter in the sentence.

"I Think It's Important For Everyone To Know Right Now That We Have Decided To Part Ways Respectfully," part of his statement read. "I'll Never Be Able To Thank Her Enough For Standing By My Side Through My Terrible Health Crisis in 2017."

"The Nature Boy" noted that both he and his former partner were working on different projects at the time and their scheduling differences made their relationship difficult. Had their wedding been a legal marriage, they would have lasted as a wedded couple for six years.

Flair's daughter, Ashley Fliehr, better known as Charlotte Flair in WWE, has followed closely in the footsteps of her father in the wrestling world. Charlotte has also been married and divorced three times at the age of 39, and after her most recent divorce from fellow "WWE SmackDown" star Andrade, fans are making a perhaps unfair comparison between the father and daughter. Charlotte was married to Riki Johnson from 2010-2013, just prior to starting in "WWE NXT," Thom Latimer from 2013-2015, and Andrade, whose real name is Manuel Alfonso Andrade Oropeza, from 2022 to 2024.

Charlotte went through her most recently divorce very quietly in an attempt to hide it from fans and protect her privacy. Charlotte and Andrade divorced in June 2024, but the news didn't get out until February 2025. When the couple divorced, Charlotte was on the shelf with a serious injury after tearing her ACL, MCL, and meniscus in a match in December 2023. Following her return and subsequent historic victory at the 2025 Royal Rumble, Charlotte appeared on the daytime talk show "Sherri" to talk about how she handled the divorce while recovering. Charlotte revealed she didn't want anyone to know about it, as she admitted she felt like a failure after being divorced twice before.

"I felt like I was failing at my job, I felt like I was failing in my personal life, and the embarrassment of being divorced again, and then being compared to my father," Charlotte admitted on the show. Charlotte said her WWE return isn't a Charlotte Flair redemption story, but rather, one for Ashley Fliehr.