Whoopi Goldberg Reveals She’s Still ‘in Touch’ With All of Her Exes: ‘Once They Were My Friends’

Being friends with an ex is a touchy subject for many people, but not Whoopi Goldberg! The talk show host revealed that she is friendly with not just one, but all of her exes today.

Whoopi, 68, shared her perspective when she and Sara Haines, Joy Behar, Sunny Hostin and Alyssa Farah Griffin discussed National Text Your Ex Day on The View on Wednesday, October 30. While some of her cohosts disagreed that it’s OK to be friends with an ex, Whoopi said that she has no problem reaching out to her former flames.

“I’m in touch with all of my exes,” she said. “I’m in touch with every one of them, because once they were my friends. It doesn’t mean that we talk all the time, but I will be respectful enough for you.”

The Sister Act star continued, “I don’t have to sleep with you, I don’t have to eat with you — I don’t have to do any of those things that a relationship forces. But I can be [friendly] because there’s nobody that I’ve lived with or messed with that I absolutely hate.”

Whoopi has been married three times. She first tied the knot with her former drug counselor, Alvin Martin, in 1973 and gave birth to their daughter, Alex Martin, that May when she was just 18 years old. However, Whoopi and Alvin ultimately called it quits in 1979 after six years together.

The Bits and Pieces author then moved on with cinematographer David Claessen, whom she married in 1986. They got divorced after two years.

Whoopi’s third husband was actor and ITSE union organizer Lyle Trachtenberg, whom she married in 1994. This was her shortest marriage, as she and Lyle, 68, called it quits after just one year.

The Ghost actress opened up about her divorces in a 2019 interview with The New York Times. “It took me some time but I realized that trying to turn myself into something I wasn’t ready for, for a man. Wasn’t his fault. It was mine,” she explained. “My marriages failed and I was the common denominator. My commitment was never that strong. I can say now that I was never really in love.”

Whoopi even revealed that she had no desire to get married again.

“I’m much happier on my own,” she said. “I can spend as much time with somebody as I want to spend, but I’m not looking to be with somebody forever or live with someone. I don’t want somebody in my house.”

Of course, that doesn’t mean Whoopi hasn’t dipped her toes into the dating world. In addition to her marriages, she has had known relationships with actor Frank Langella, playwright David Schein, businessman Michael Visbal, orthodontist Jeffrey Cohen, camera operator Edward Gold, actor Ted Danson and actor Timothy Dalton.

During a March episode of The View, the Oscar winner dished that one of her most recent romances had a huge age gap.

“I’ve gone up and down. I go from here to here, because your age is not what’s going to get me into your arms. It’s not your age that I’m concerned about — unless you’re under 18, in which case I can’t,” she said. “Actually, I’m just gonna say this to you. One of the last relationships I had, he was 40 years older than me.”