Marcia Murphey Worked In TV Production – Facts about Neil Diamond's Ex-wife

Neil Diamond's second wife, Marcia Murphey, was described by her colleagues as a beautiful, bright, and independent woman, qualities that some thought attracted the singer.

Murphey became Diamond's second wife in 1969. The pair had two children, Jesse and Micah, born seven years apart in the 1970s.

Their marriage lasted for close to three decades before they called it quits. Diamond, who had promised to always be there for his wife when they married, had become distant, engrossed in his work.

Marcia Murphey Has All-American Credentials

Diamond is a proud American, and of American ideals; hence, he was said to have been impressed by Murphey's all-American credentials. He noted, "Her forebears came over on the Mayflower. She's the much more American side of me, and she offers me that strength as well."

The Mayflower was an English ship famous for bringing a group of English families to the "New World" in the early 17th century. It anchored in what is known today as the United States of America, on the coast of Massachusetts.

According to her husband, Murphey is two months older than him. Diamond was born on January 24, 1941, meaning she was born sometime late in 1940. Her full name is Marcia Kay Murphey.

Murphey was a TV production assistant when she married Diamond. Roy Silver later employed her at his management production company in Hollywood. People that she worked with were, like Diamond, impressed by her. Silver described her as pretty, bright, and super witty, able to compete intellectually with the men around her.

Comedian Mike Mislove said she was a happy-natured person, and he had a crush on her. Others, like her one-time lover, singer-songwriter Jake Holmes, pointed out that she was gorgeous. Stephan Prince saw her as a strong, liberated woman and thought that was one of the qualities Diamond liked about her.

Marcia Murphey Met Her Husband on a TV Set

While visiting New York, Diamond met an employee at a TV station he went to. She caught the singer's attention, but he wasn't quite sure why. He recalled, "Maybe it was the sadness in her eyes. I saw this girl, and she evidently understood great pain." The pair had not had any conversation at that point.

After their first encounter on the set of the "Clay Cole Show," they got to see more of each other when Murphey was hired by Fred Weintraub as a production assistant on his new series, "Live From the Bitter End." Soon, the pair began their relationship despite Diamond being a married man. Murphey was a one-time divorcee.

Eventually, Diamond left his wife. He reportedly "went out to get a package of cigarettes [one day] and never went back." In 1969, Diamond ended his marriage to Jaye Posner. That same year, he married Murphey and vowed to give more of his time to her and their family, something he had failed to do in his previous marriage.

After the birth of the couple's first son, Jesse, in 1972, Diamond stood by his word and stopped public appearances. He went four years without live performances and learned how to fish during his sabbatical.

Jesse's younger brother Micah was born about seven years later. Although Diamond had returned to the stage, playing to sell-out crowds in 1976, his family was still a priority. The singer said Murphey was the rock on which he stood, and he always returned home to his family after touring worldwide.

Diamond's famous song, "Sweet Caroline," was believed to have been about Caroline Kennedy, the daughter of President John F. Kennedy. However, Diamond said that was partly true. The song was about Murphey but her name, Marcia, did not rhyme, so they went with Caroline.

In an interview in 1992, Diamond spoke about having been married to Murphey for 24 years. He admitted that it was not easy to be married to him for so long, but she had "handled it so far."

Marcia Murphey and Neil Diamond's Divorce

Murphey and Diamond's relationship had run its course by 1995. The couple divorced in 1995 in what was rumored to be a $150 million divorce settlement paid to Murphey. However, that was not accurate.

Looking back at the time just before the divorce, Diamond conceded that he had stopped paying enough attention to the needs of Murphey. He said, "She did everything right, and I did everything wrong."

The divorce was a brutal consequence of Neil Diamond's focus on his work. He said that much of his life changed as the end of their marriage also resulted in losing friends, which hurt him.

Unlike Diamond, whose life in the spotlight has continued, Murphey has led a private life since the divorce. Her son, Jesse, made a post dedicated to her in 2022, telling her he loved her and wished her a happy Mother's Day.