Glennon Doyle First Husband Craig Melton: Marriage Timeline, Divorce And Co-Parenting
If you’re searching glennon doyle first husband, you’re looking for the man Glennon was married to before her relationship with Abby Wambach became widely known. Glennon Doyle’s first husband is Craig Melton. They were married for more than a decade, shared three children, and later divorced—an ending Glennon has discussed openly in her writing and interviews as part of her larger story about addiction recovery, faith, identity, and rebuilding a life that feels honest.
Because Glennon’s work is so personal, readers often want the full timeline. This article gives you the key facts without turning a real family’s history into gossip.
Quick Facts About Glennon Doyle And Her First Husband
- Glennon Doyle’s First Husband: Craig Melton
- Married: 2004
- Divorced: 2016
- Children Together: Three
- Glennon Known For: Author of Untamed, Love Warrior, and Carry On, Warrior
- Later Marriage: Married Abby Wambach in 2017
Who Is Glennon Doyle?
Glennon Doyle is an author and speaker known for writing the kind of truth that makes people stop mid-sentence and whisper, “I needed that.” She built a massive audience by talking about things many people hide—addiction, mental health, marriage struggles, motherhood overwhelm, faith shifts, and the exhausting pressure to be “good” in public while falling apart in private.
Her popularity isn’t built on perfect storytelling. It’s built on honesty. And that honesty is exactly why people are curious about her first marriage—because her personal life has always been deeply woven into her work.
Who Is Glennon Doyle’s First Husband Craig Melton?
Craig Melton is Glennon Doyle’s first husband and the father of her three children. He is not a celebrity in the way Glennon is, and he has generally kept a lower public profile. Most people know him because Glennon has referenced their marriage in her writing—especially when discussing early motherhood, relationship strain, and the complicated process of rebuilding trust and stability.
In other words, Craig is part of Glennon’s story because they shared a life and a family. But he isn’t a public figure performing a public role. That distinction matters, because it’s easy for the internet to forget there are real people behind famous memoir chapters.
When Did Glennon Doyle Marry Craig Melton?
Glennon Doyle married Craig Melton in 2004. This was during a period when Glennon was still becoming who she would later be publicly. She has shared that her early adult life included serious struggles, and marriage—like it is for many people—was both a love story and a pressure cooker.
When you’re young, building a family, and still figuring out your own healing, marriage can become the place where everything collides: expectations, fear, hope, shame, and the desire to be “okay.” Glennon has written about those years with a level of vulnerability that is rare for public figures.
How Long Were They Married?
Glennon Doyle and Craig Melton were married for roughly 12 years, from 2004 until their divorce in 2016. That’s long enough to build a shared history that doesn’t disappear when a marriage ends. It becomes part of the family’s foundation, even if the relationship changes form.
Because their marriage lasted more than a decade and included three children, their story isn’t a simple “before and after.” It’s a long arc with multiple seasons—love, struggle, repair attempts, and eventually a shift toward a different kind of partnership through co-parenting.
Why Glennon Doyle And Craig Melton Divorced
Glennon has been open that her divorce was connected to a bigger process of living more truthfully. Over time, she has described realizing that the life she was living didn’t fully match who she was becoming. That kind of realization can be terrifying, especially when it affects a marriage and children.
It’s also important to say this clearly: divorce stories are never one-dimensional. People want a clean villain and a clean hero. Real life doesn’t work that way. Glennon has written about pain on both sides, the seriousness of committing to change, and the hard truth that sometimes love isn’t enough to make a marriage sustainable.
Do Glennon Doyle And Craig Melton Have Kids?
Yes. Glennon Doyle and Craig Melton share three children. Glennon’s identity as a mother is central to her writing, and she has often spoken about parenting as both the most beautiful and most demanding part of her life.
When you understand that she is raising three kids, the divorce story reads differently. It isn’t just a romance ending. It’s a family restructuring—deciding how to protect children emotionally while changing the adult relationship in a responsible way.
Co-Parenting And Life After Divorce
One reason Glennon’s relationship history stays in the public conversation is that she’s spoken about co-parenting with a level of honesty that many people find helpful. She hasn’t presented divorce as a glamorous “fresh start” fantasy. She’s presented it as what it often is: messy grief mixed with relief, guilt mixed with hope, fear mixed with a new kind of freedom.
Co-parenting after a long marriage often involves real work:
- building new routines so kids feel safe and stable
- learning new communication styles with an ex-spouse
- setting boundaries while remaining cooperative
- keeping kids out of adult conflict as much as possible
Glennon has framed co-parenting as part of choosing integrity—doing what’s healthiest for the family, even when it’s emotionally complicated.
Meeting Abby Wambach And A New Chapter
Glennon Doyle’s life shifted publicly when she began a relationship with Abby Wambach, the legendary soccer champion. Their relationship became part of Glennon’s broader narrative about becoming more honest with herself and embracing love without contorting into what others expect.
Glennon and Abby married in 2017. That marriage didn’t erase her first one—it added a new chapter. For many readers, the “first husband” search isn’t about gossip; it’s about understanding the full arc of how she moved from one life to another.
Why People Still Search “Glennon Doyle First Husband”
This keyword stays popular for a few reasons:
- Her books are personal. Readers want context for the memoir-style details.
- Untamed sparked curiosity. Many people discovered her through that story and wanted the timeline.
- Divorce and identity are relatable topics. People search her story while navigating their own.
- Craig Melton is private. Less public info creates more searches.
In a way, people search for her first husband because they’re searching for the “before” version of Glennon—the life she lived before her most public chapter began.
What To Remember When You Read Her Story
It’s easy to consume celebrity divorces like entertainment. Glennon’s story doesn’t really fit that mold. She writes like someone trying to tell the truth so other people feel less alone. If you’re reading about her first marriage, it helps to keep one thing in mind: there are children involved, and there’s a real person on the other side of the memoir.
That doesn’t mean you can’t be curious. It just means curiosity should come with a little humanity.
The Bottom Line
If you’re searching glennon doyle first husband, her first husband is Craig Melton. They married in 2004, divorced in 2016, and share three children. Glennon has spoken about that marriage as part of a larger journey toward sobriety, self-honesty, and building a life that aligns with who she truly is. After the divorce, she began a new chapter with Abby Wambach, whom she married in 2017—while continuing to co-parent and protect her kids’ stability.
Featured image source: https://onmilwaukee.com/articles/glennondoylemelton
