What We Know About Kris Kristofferson's Two Failed Marriages

Before his death at age 88, Kris Kristofferson had remained married for more than four decades, an impressive feat in the world of entertainment — and beyond. The "A Star Is Born" actor said "I do" to Lisa Meyers in February 1983, marking the third time he had done so. For many years, during which they welcomed five children, Kristofferson and Meyers stuck together through thick and thin. Even amid Kristofferson's tough battle with Alzheimer's, which turned out to be Lyme's disease, Meyers remained as his rock.

Their secret lay in approaching it with humor. "The more we can get Kris to laugh, the healthier he is. Being on the road, the laughter, the music. It's great medicine," she told HuffPost in 2016. After living several decades in the spotlight, the "Me and Bobby McGee" songwriter had opted to step away from the spotlight and enjoy a more private life with Meyers before his death.

"We have the same values, and we love our children. I think probably the main thing is we've got the same values, and we love each other," Kristofferson told CMT in 2006. Kristofferson, who was in his mid-40s when he married Meyers, believed his age also contributed to it. "I hope that over the years I've gotten to be better as a partner than I was back when I was scrambling to be who I wanted to be," he added. Indeed, it seemed Kristofferson had come a long way.

Before he rose to prominence in the '70s, Kris Kristofferson had earned a literature degree from Oxford University. After having a novel rejected, he abandoned academic life and tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend Fran Beer in 1960. "We thought we could solve each other's problems, we, uh, got married, she got pregnant, my novel I'd finished got rejected, and I was suddenly stuck, totally, with the bread-winner role," Kristofferson told Rolling Stone in 1974.

The couple started their family in 1962 when they welcomed their daughter Tracy, and expanded it six years later with the addition of Kris Jr. To provide for his family, Kristofferson joined the Army, eventually being assigned to West Point as an English teacher in 1965. Before he reported to his new post, Kristofferson visited a friend in Nashville. The Music City reignited Kristofferson's dream of being a songwriter, a career path he'd tried to pursue for years — albeit unsuccessfully up to that point.

Kristofferson moved his wife and kid to Nashville and started supporting the three of them by working as a janitor at Columbia Records. "I accepted that it was a leap of faith, leaving home to do what I loved," he told Texas Monthly in 1997. The move and pay cut scared Beer, a situation that became even more tense when Kris Jr. was born with health issues that resulted in $10,000 in medical bills. In 1969, Kristofferson and Beer split up.

It didn't take long for Kris Kristofferson to move on. In 1971, two years after his divorce from Fran Beer, Kristofferson met Rita Coolidge on a plane between Los Angeles and Memphis. "I like to say that it was 'love at first flight,'" she told People in 2016. "We literally talked all the way to Memphis." Coolidge and Kristofferson married in 1973 and welcomed a daughter, Casey, a year later. Together, the musicians left a mark, winning two Grammys for performances as a duo. 

But offstage, their relationship was going in a different direction. "Our marriage was volatile," Coolidge told The Aquarian 2019. In her 2016 memoir "Delta Lady," Coolidge opened up about the toll Kristofferson's drinking and womanizing ways took on the marriage. But Coolidge's breaking point wasn't even an affair — it was Kristofferson and Sarah Miles' steamy scenes in the 1976 film "The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea," which was published by Playboy, according to Texas Monthly.

Coolidge and Kristofferson couldn't stay married. Their 1979 divorce was highly publicized and not exactly amicable, but Coolidge continued to feel love for Kristofferson. "Kris and I have a connection and we laugh at stuff that nobody else gets," she told People. "We just have a bond that is beyond any kind of understanding." Her choice to discuss their marital problems in her book had nothing to do with her feelings for him. "My intention was never to vilify Kris," she told The Irish Times.

Days after Kris Kristofferson's death in September 2024, Rita Coolidge further proved the former couple remained on good terms when she made a touching Facebook post honoring the "Highway Man" artist. Coolidge uploaded a throwback black-and-white photo from when the couple were still married and their daughter, Casey Kristofferson, was a baby. In the adorable snap, Coolidge sat at a piano with Casey on her lap as the youngster played with the keys. Kris sat beside them, looking on with a giant smile across his face. "His voice may be still on this earthly plane but his passion for music will live forever [in] the tapestry of the American Songbook," Coolidge wrote alongside the photo. "RIP Old Friend. I will Love You forever and find you in the laughter of our daughter," she added.

Coolidge's tribute mentioned Kris's place in the history of music, which was instrumental in their relationship. Not only because the two musicians performed together but also because Casey was exposed to the scene at a young age. "I wanted to take my family with me on the road," Kris recalled to the Irish Independent in April 2004 when reflecting on his marriage to Coolidge. "Our little girl, Casey, was with us on the road and it did work. But only for a while," he added. The toll of being a touring family eventually contributed to the dissolution of the "Heaven's Gate" actor's marriage to Coolidge, but there was a positive influence on his daughter.

Casey became a musician herself and formed the Casey Kristofferson Band. The group released their debut album in 2019, which included Casey singing a cover of her father's hit song "Me and Bobby McGee."