'Dirty Jobs' Host Mike Rowe Prefers to Keep His Love Life Private

Throughout his long career in show business, Mike Rowe has managed to keep a relatively tight lid on information about his personal life. That includes everything from what his career was like before Dirty Jobs to his love life, which most fans know very little about.

Between his podcast The Way I Heard It and his latest movie Something to Stand For, Mike Rowe remains a prominent figure. Naturally, his relevance and influence keep people wondering whether the popular TV personality is married, and if so, who his wife is. Here's what we know.

Unless he's kept his marriage very hidden, it would appear that Mike is unmarried. In spite of his long career in the public eye, Mike has only been publicly linked to a few women. Even those links were only through rumor, which means that Mike has managed to keep the details of his dating life very private.

For a time, Mike was linked to stuntwoman Danielle Burgio. Danielle was the stand-in for Trinity in The Matrix films, and is now married to producer Robert Merrill. Mike has also been linked to Sandy Dotson, who works as an executive at a data management company. The two were spotted on vacation together, and Mike even said that he was currently in a relationship with a woman in San Francisco in 2019. Mike never confirmed whether the woman was Sandy or not.

In 2006, a Reddit user asked Mike whether he wanted to have kids, and he replied with a fairly lengthy explanation of why he didn't feel it was necessary. He said that he had nothing against having children, but added that he had weighed the pros and cons carefully after seeing how the lives of his friends changed once they had children.

Mike also said that he believes a lot of people who are parents have no business being parents, and pointed out that having a kid was very easy to do in theory, but hard to do in practice. "The most difficult task a human being can embark upon — the lifelong commitment of parenthood — requires no qualification whatsoever," he wrote. Mike continued, explaining that he'd never heard a truly convincing reason to have kids or not have kids. 

"Here's my answer," Mike wrote in conclusion. "My reasoning for not having kids is due to the fact that I'm selfish. And if I ever change my mind and decide to have a family, my reasoning will be the same." 

The lengthy, frank answer that Mike left to the question may have surprised the questioner, who suggested in their post that they weren't sure whether the question would receive an answer at all. 

Other Redditors found the answer insightful, and said that it gave a fair shake to both sides of the issue. Some even said that they plan to use it themselves. "This was worded perfectly," one user wrote. "I'm tempted to memorize this entire thing, to recite whenever I'm asked. It really is the perfect answer to the question, while giving consideration to both sides of the issue. Thanks for sharing!" 

Although Mike doesn't have any children of his own, he certainly appreciates their "kids say the darndest things" moments. In February 2023, the TV personality was approached by two adorable little girls, who were also fans, and he captured the moment on camera.

Mike currently lives in northern California, according to his official website. In June 2024, he was spotted visiting the famous Camp Pendleton, where an advanced screening of his movie Something to Stand For took place. He describes the film as his "patriotic love-letter to America".

Something to Stand For released in theaters on July 1, 2024.