A Look at Linda McMahon and Vince McMahon's Relationship Timeline

Linda McMahon and Vince McMahon are largely considered wrestling royalty due to their massively successful wrestling brand, the WWE (formerly known as WWF). However, with as much professional success as the currently estranged couple has had, their relationship is a bit harder to understand.

Linda and Vince married in August 1966, when Vince proposed shortly after Linda graduated high school, via The Detroit News. The couple welcomed their first child, son Shane McMahon, in 1970, followed by the birth of their daughter, Stephanie McMahon in 1976. Linda and Vince also have six grandchildren.

The couple were teenagers when they initially met, as Linda was just 13, and Vince was 16, according to the New York Times. They eventually married a few years later, on Aug. 28, 1966. At the time, Linda was 17, and Vince was 21.

With Linda enrolled in college at East Carolina University and Vince working as a traveling salesman, the couple’s early days were spent building financial stability before eventually moving to Gaithersburg, Md., in 1969, per the WWE.

After buying the WWF from his father in 1982, Vince decided to air WWF matches on television — and thrust modern wrestling entertainment into the mainstream.

Major television markets began airing the wrestling matches in syndication and hundreds of wrestling stars were born. The WWF eventually became the WWE, wrestling shot to one of the most popular forms of entertainment, and is one of the most viewed entertainment entities in prime time with its highly attended matches across the country.

While Vince had sexual assault allegations dating back as far as 1992, an alleged $3 million hush-money settlement Vince paid to a former employee he was having an affair with was a major catalyst for trouble in the marriage.

The WWE board investigated the claims by the former employee and the other woman, allegedly totalling $12 million in hush-money payments by Vince, according to CNBC. In October 2022, that number grew to $19.6 million in payments stemming from sexual misconduct and sexual assault, the outlet later reported.

Additional claims and lawsuits alleging sex trafficking, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and sexual misconduct followed throughout 2024. Vince announced he was stepping down as WWE CEO in June 2022 and his official retirement was in July 2022, but he returned six months later, according to the Wall Street Journal. In January 2024, he resigned for the second time following disturbing claims of rape and sex trafficking by Janel Smith, per Deadline.

In November 2024, following a profile piece on Linda, it was officially revealed that she and Vince were separated, according to Sports Illustrated.

Although confirmed via Linda’s attorney, the current Department of Education head has yet to publicly speak out about the status of her relationship or if she has any plans to divorce Vince.