Katharine McPhee And David Foster: Strange Things About Their Relationship

Katharine McPhee and David Foster have known each other for some time. When McPhee was a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol, Grammy award-winning songwriter and producer David Foster was a guest mentor on the show. Together, the two created sweet music as McPhee belted out her rendition of Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing," which Foster just so happened to have co-written with one of his many ex-wives, Linda Thompson.

But McPhee and Foster went on to live their own separate lives following their fated first encounter in 2006. McPhee would get married and divorced from her ex-husband, Nick Cokas, in February 2006, while Foster would finalize his divorce from his fourth wife, Yolanda Hadid, in October 2017.

The timing surrounding the end of his marriage proved to be quite suspicious. Before the ink was even dry on the divorce papers, he was spotted around town getting cozy with McPhee, and a saucy photo of the songstress with her hand casually placed on the rump of his jeans was all the proof we needed to confirm their May-December romance was in full effect. By July 3, 2018, a very smitten McPhee confirmed their engagement in an Instagram post.

Besides Foster being 34 years McPhee's senior, there are so many peculiar things about this duo that have raised eyebrows. Here are the strange things about Katharine McPhee and David Foster's relationship.

When McPhee tied the knot with her first husband, Nick Cokas (pictured, right), in 2008, the couple turned their reception into a musical extravaganza, with Cokas performing Billy Joel's "She's Got a Way" before McPhee took the platform to perform a rendition of "Unforgettable" by the late Natalie Cole. 

In photos of the wedding album, courtesy of People magazine, Foster can be spotted behind a piano, working his magic on the keys, while McPhee serenaded her then-husband and their wedding guests. Can you say awkward?

We doubt there was any funny business going on between Katharine McPhee and David Foster way back then. Well, we hope not at least. But it doesn't make it any less strange that the award-winning musician was front and center at McPhee's big day. 

And now, it will be Foster's turn to get serenaded by the songstress at their upcoming nuptials. Let's just hope they don't hire Cokas to play the piano!

Foster has a long string of ex-wives, including B.J. Cook, whom he married in 1972 and separated from nine years later (via Page Six). Then, there was his 1982 wedding to Rebecca Dyer. But, of course, that didn't last either, and they divorced in 1986. And before marrying The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alumna Yolanda Hadid, the music aficionado got married to Linda Thompson (pictured) in 1991 before they called it quits in 2005. Thompson later spoke out about Foster's surprise proposal to McPhee in an interview with Us Weekly.

"I wish them well," Thompson said. "I think the only thing that's a real deterrent, I think, is the age difference." You can say that again.

Thompson then attempted to backtrack a bit by adding, "But I think life doesn't have any guarantees anyway. If you find someone you love, go for it, you know? [McPhee is] a lovely person. She's beautiful and she's talented, and they have that musicality in common, so that goes a long way."

A couple needs to have more than music in common in order for their romance to last, and we think Thompson knows this all too well. She and Foster penned some of the most timeless songs to ever hit the radio waves together, but their own romance fizzled behind the scenes, with Thompson later calling Foster "jealous" and "controlling" in her memoir, A Little Thing Called Life: On Loving Elvis Presley, Bruce Jenner, and Songs in Between (via Radar Online).

Take heed, Katharine.

As Foster's fourth ex-wife, Yolanda Hadid (pictured), was going through a devastating breakup with then-boyfriend businessman Matt Mannis when Foster's engagement to McPhee hit the rumor mill. According to Radar Online, Hadid was none too pleased about the news, and she reportedly wasn't taking things well. Like, not. At. All.

"[Hadid] was initially upset by the engagement," a source told the website. "It's unacceptable and she thinks he's way too old for [McPhee]."

It was more than the age difference that had Hadid peeved though. The source also claimed, "Yolanda suspected something was going on with Katharine all along," before adding that Hadid felt "threatened by their chemistry."

Since their divorce wasn't finalized before the songwriter and the former Smash star began parading their love affair in front of the public, it wouldn't be too surprising to learn that there may have been a bit of overlap going on — though, of course, that's all conjecture. 

Even though Foster has a host of children and stepchildren of his own, including supermodels Gigi and Bella Hadid and reality star Brody Jenner, McPhee is allegedly ready to make him a father once again, according to In Touch (via Closer Weekly).

An insider told the publication, "David is different than any other guy she's dated before. He's a gentleman and has a life. She also finds him very attractive and would love for her kids to have his looks and confidence."

The insider went on to say, "She's practically begging David to make her a mom." But before we could call McPhee thirsty, the source added that Foster was "all for" her baby-making agenda.

As of this writing, McPhee doesn't have any children of her own so we're not shocked that she wants to settle down and have a baby. However, maybe being a stepmom would be more her speed. His daughter Erin has already given her stamp of approval by calling McPhee "mommmyyy" — albeit in a joking way. And does Foster really need to add another branch to his already convoluted family tree?

In an interview with E! News, Foster's daughters Erin and Sara didn't confirm that their dad and McPhee were an item, but they did give their two cents about his dating life. "We love our dad. We want our dad to be happy. We don't care who he dates ... don't really care how old they are," Sara said.

However, things got rather strange when Erin called her dad a "very young-at-heart kind of guy," before adding, "Honestly, our friends in their twenties are trying to date him, so we're just proud of him for not doing that ... He's like, 'I draw the line there.' I think thirties, forties is like a respectable age for a man in his sixties."

We agree that age is nothing but a number, and we applaud Foster for bypassing the women in their 20s for a someone who's of a more "respectable age." Still, how is Erin not creeped out that she's one year older than her future stepmom?

The September 2017 Grammy Museum's annual gala brought out all the stars, including Foster and McPhee who were allegedly just friends at the time.

When Entertainment Tonight approached the American Idol runner-up, she didn't hesitate to gush about the songwriter. "He's an incredible friend and I just pinch myself when I get to spend time with him on a personal level," she said. "I love his outlook on life and how he treats people. He's a really a special person in my life."

It sounds like McPhee was straight up fangirling over Foster, doesn't it? Hopefully, she no longer has to pinch herself now that their relationship has moved out of the friendzone.

But McPhee also made some additional comments that lead us to believe she may be in this relationship for all the wrong reasons. "He's always reminding me and it's comforting to know that it's possible to walk through this life he's had — working with incredible people, being friends with ex-presidents and world leaders — and still have that perspective," the singer and actress said. "He's so well-connected, but still just a simple guy from Canada with his little Canadian accent!"

So is she in love with him for his connections and how starstruck he makes her feel, or is she truly head-over-heels in love with him?

Following Foster's divorce from Hadid, his daughters Sara and Erin were convinced their dad would have no problem finding wife number five. "Erin and I just want someone who's going to make him a smoothie and is going to bring him some vitamins in the morning. That's all we're looking for," Sara told Ryan Seacrest in July 2016. 

Perhaps they weren't worried about their father lining up their next stepmom because they — and the rest of the world — were well aware of Foster's modus operandi. In other words, this playboy never stays unmarried for long. 

While speaking to Vanity Fair in January 2017, the songwriter said, "I tend to go from marriage to marriage — leaving one wife for another." No kidding.

He continued by saying, "This is the first time in my adult life that I've been single. It's a very powerful feeling, but I'm not used to it."

Did he get engaged to McPhee rather quickly because he was afraid to be alone? It's possible. And it appears he has met his perfect match because he's not the only one in this equation who isn't a fan of the single life...

Before David Foster expressed his tendency to wife-hop, Katharine McPhee spoke to Ocean Drive magazine about her own proclivity for staying in a relationship 24/7. "I have not been single for very much of my life. I don't really understand how to date or how to be single," she told the magazine in August 2016. "People say, 'You just need to hook up with a bunch of people,' but I am more of an in-love kind of person. I want to be in love with one person. I'm a one-man kind of gal and a kind of true romantic at heart."

Let's recap: Foster goes from one marriage to the next, and McPhee has hardly experienced what it's like to roll solo. They appear to have the same mindset when it comes to being in relationships, so what could go wrong? 

Sure, Foster has struck out four times in the marriage department, but that doesn't mean things with McPhee will necessarily go belly up, too. 

Here's to Katharine McPhee and David Foster staying committed to one another for the long run!