Steve Harvey's Kids Weren't On Board With His Marriage To Marjorie At First
When Steve Harvey and Marjorie Harvey married in 2007, they combined their families into a large blended family. Steve had his twin daughters, Brandi Harvey and Karli Harvey, from his first marriage and his sons, Broderick Harvey and Wynton Harvey, from his second. Meanwhile, Marjorie brought her daughters, Morgan Harvey and Lori Harvey, and her son, Jason Harvey, from her previous marriage. In July, the "Family Feud" host celebrated 16 years of marital bliss with an Instagram video post from their wedding day. "Still going strong," he wrote while tagging his wife. The couple were still happy together, but originally it was a challenge to get the kids on board with the blended family.
After his marriage to Marjorie, Steve found it important to connect with his wife's children. "At no time can any of those kids feel like they're the stepchild," he explained on his talk show, "Steve Harvey," in 2016.
Once they all started living together, Steve and Marjorie prioritized bonding with each other's children. "Now, we're Mom and Dad to everybody," Marjorie told People in 2016. That bond took time, however, as some of the kids were against the marriage at first. "I said, 'Look, you don't like it? Deal with it. I don't need y'all's permission," Steve said about the objections. His daughters were especially vocal when they first found out their dad was marrying Marjorie.
The daughters of both parents were against the marriage
Both Steve Harvey's daughters and Marjorie Harvey's daughters had serious misgivings when their parents announced they were getting married. In an effort to bring the two families closer, the parents set up a night out for all the kids, but that's when all four daughters made their feelings known. "All the girls went bowling, came back and decided they didn't want us to get married and said they don't think it's the right thing to do," Steve said in May while appearing on the "Club Shay Shay" podcast, adding, "And they need more time to get to know us."
The protestations came from Steve's twin daughters and Marjorie's daughters, but the sons of both parents were fine with the situation. "They cool with everything. The four girls? Just total mayhem. Totally against it," the long-time TV host explained. Apparently, Steve made it clear to his daughters that they had no say in the matter, and he was marrying Marjorie regardless of their feedback.
While Steve tried to lay down the law, his wife was more diplomatic. "So Marjorie being the fixer in the family. She sat down and had a group discussion. I left," he recalled on an episode of his "Steve Harvey" talk show in 2016, when Marjorie appeared as a guest. Eventually, the two parents were able to bring everyone together as a blended family, but they all learned lessons along the way.
Steve Harvey's daughter's rumored rift with Marjorie
To ensure that the family came together as one unit, Steve Harvey and Marjorie Harvey implemented a few rules for themselves and the kids. "The first thing we did, we don't use the term stepchildren," he said on "Good Morning America" in 2009 while giving out tips for parenting a blended family. "I never refer to my youngest daughter as my stepdaughter. She is my daughter," he added. In an effort to help the step-siblings grow closer, Steve and Marjorie paired the like-aged kids up as "accountability partners," where they were given their own set of family rules. Despite their efforts, the parents still received pushback from some of the kids. Steve spoke about dealing with step-kids that "disengage" him as a parent, saying, "I just inform them that if you disengage, I can disengage too."
Over the years, fans have speculated that Karli Harvey and Brandi Harvey — who originally objected to their dad marrying Marjorie — never got along with their step-mom. Several online sleuths pointed out that the twin sisters were often absent from Marjorie's family posts on social media.
Despite the speculation about their relationship with Marjorie, in 2020, the twins went on vacation with the family and gave their step-mom a shoutout on Instagram. "We're celebrating and enjoying our time with family. Happy Birthday @marjorie_harvey," Brandi wrote in the caption of a video alongside her sister.