72 Years Ago Today This Western Movie Legend Married For The Third And Final Time
Onscreen, John Wayne was known for his tough persona and gunslinger roles. While this persona is the one that made him famous, he was different behind the scenes. Biographer Scott Eyman, who wrote the 2014 book "John Wayne: The Life and Legend," explained to Woman's World in 2026, "Over the couple of hours I sat with him, I found that there was an interesting gap between who he was as a human being and what he played." Eyman noted how there were some similarities, " ... but he was much more ... thoughtful ... as a person than his screen character was. He was much more contemplative than his screen characters." Unlike many fans, those who got close to John before his death in 1979 knew this well. Surely no one knew it better than his third wife, Pilar Wayne. Today, they would have celebrated their 72nd wedding anniversary.
John's widow is almost a centenarian; she'll reach her milestone 100th birthday in 2028. When she tied the knot with John, though, she was only 26, making the then-47-year-old actor among the many old Hollywood stars with sizable age gaps in their relationships. By the time he said "I do" to Pilar in November 1954, he had already been married twice. He married his first wife Josephine Alicia Saenz in 1933, and they split 12 years later. He met the woman who would become his second wife, Esperanza Baur, while on vacation with his first in 1941. They married in 1946 and had a fraught relationship. Their divorce was reportedly finalized the day he married his third wife.
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Pilar Wayne still calls John Wayne 'the love of my life'
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Despite messy beginnings, John Wayne and Pilar Wayne were married until the actor's death in 1979. The Western icon had four kids with his first wife and three with Pilar. Throughout its almost 25 years, his third and final marriage had ups and downs, including the couple living apart in the years before his death. Yet, Pilar has mostly fond memories of the relationship. In 1987, days after their wedding anniversary and nearly a decade after John's death, Pilar spoke to the Los Angeles Times about her husband. "He was strong, generous and kind, with lots of sense of humor," she said, noting, "He was fun to be with — everybody wanted to be with him. Plus, he was a fascinating man. Extremely intelligent. He loved to read." She added that, "He was quite a guy. ... I really miss him. I wish he was back here again."
That feeling never seemed to go away for Pilar. Over 40 years after losing him, she was still celebrating their wedding anniversary. On the big day in 2023, she shared an Instagram video with photos of the pair on their wedding day and her own explanation of them. In the caption, she wrote, "November 1, 1954," and also called her hubby by his famous nickname: "Today is our wedding anniversary. Duke was the love of my life." In addition to living on through his work, it's clear that John still lives on in Pilar's memory.
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