Couples
Katie Couric Found Love Again After Losing 1st Husband Jay Monahan: Inside Her Marriage History
Famed broadcaster Katie Couric found love again after facing a tragedy. The Today alum lost her first husband, Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in 1998. She married her second husband, John Molner, in 2014. Keep scrolling to learn more about Katie’s marriage history.
Who Was Katie Couric’s First Husband, Jay Monahan?
Katie and Jay first met at a party in Virginia in the ‘80s while she was working at WRC. Jay, born John Paul Monahan III, graduated from Georgetown Law School and began working as an attorney in Washington, D.C., upon meeting the journalist. The couple walked down the aisle in 1989.
In 1991, they welcomed their eldest daughter, Elinor Tully “Ellie” Monahan. Their youngest daughter, Caroline “Carrie” Monahan, arrived in 1996. Katie became a permanent cohost on Today in 1991 and her husband was by her side supporting her big career move. Jay also began working for NBC as a legal analyst.
The lawyer was diagnosed with colon cancer in 1997. He died in 1998 at the age of 42. Katie opened up about how she was affected by her husband’s death in her October 2021 memoir, Going There.
“Writing this and remembering Jay and the early days of our courtship — the handsome, young, mischievous Jay I met that freezing January night at a party in northern Virginia — it reminded me of the sheer joy of starting out, starting our lives together,” she penned.
She continues to keep Jay’s memory alive, often sharing photos of her late husband on Instagram and writing tributes to mark his birthday, death anniversary and marriage anniversary each year. The author and her daughters have also become colon cancer screening advocates. Katie, who revealed her own breast cancer diagnosis in September 2022, helped found Stand Up To Cancer in 2008, inspired by Jay to raise money for cancer research.
Who Is Katie Couric’s Second Husband, John Molner?
Katie met John in 2012 after they were set up on a date by a mutual friend. The pair wed two years later in the Hamptons. The Illinois native studied at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and went on to pursue a career in finance. His whole life changed once he met his perfect match.
“I was single for years before I met Katie, and I was starting to think about what I might look for in someone if I were going to get remarried,” he said in an October 2021 post on Katie Couric Media’s official website.
He continued, “And I wanted somebody who had their own activities, their own passions, whether that meant she was a lawyer or a doctor or a stamp collector. So be careful what you wish for, I guess. But yeah, Katie’s had a big life. That didn’t intimidate me, but it fascinated me and I enjoyed it. She loves doing what she’s doing and she’s good at it. So, I’m lucky.”
John cofounded the news and production company Katie Couric Media with his wife in 2017. Prior to meeting the Virginia native, the businessman was married to Jane Franke Molner. He shares two children with his ex-wife, Allie Molner and Henry Molner.
