Tragic Details About Dr. Phil's First Wife, Debbie Higgins

Phil McGraw, better known as Dr. Phil, is a polarizing public figure, to say the very least. Despite what has overall been a hugely successful career in the world of daytime TV, he has also found himself at the center of controversy on more than one occasion. For example, there's the fact that he's not actually a licensed therapist and hasn't been since 2006, and the revelation of several of his former employees describing a nightmarish work culture behind the scenes. Given that McGraw is such a prominent public figure, these things were likely to draw attention. His level of fame is also the reason many of his fans are familiar with his wife, Robin McGraw, who he married in 1976, and some of the strange things about their relationship. However, what some fans may not be aware of is that Robin is actually McGraw's second wife.

Before he and Robin tied the knot more than half a century ago, McGraw had been married to a woman by the name of Debbie Higgins McCall from 1970 to 1973. For years, this marriage was not common knowledge among the general public, with McCall even describing herself as "the secret first wife of Dr. Phil" during a 2002 interview. But when you look inside McGraw's marriage and divorce from McCall, it paints a picture of a very unhappy situation, and that's to say nothing of the fact that McCall herself is no longer with us. 

One of Phil McGraw's rare public comments about his marriage to Debbie Higgins McCall came in September 2002, during an interview with Newsweek. "I was the big football player, and she was the cheerleader. This was just the next thing to do," he said, noting that he and McCall wed shortly after finishing high school, and didn't particularly think the decision through. He also implied that their eventual split was relatively amicable. The following month, however, McCall revealed that there was a bit more to the story.

In an October 2002 interview with The Kansas City Star (via The Record), McCall claimed that while McGraw had been a sweet, caring boyfriend throughout their teenage romance, the future TV therapist did a complete 180 after they tied the knot at the age of 20, becoming rather controlling. According to McCall, McGraw expected her to be a homemaker, and barred her from taking on any sort of professional role at the health spa he owned at the time. She also said that he put a lot of pressure on her to always maintain her looks, and even pushed her to lift weights so she would have a fuller chest.

Still, it seems that McCall was happy to leave the past in the past. She explained that she only decided to speak up after McGraw publicly acknowledged their short marriage for the first time after previously sweeping it under the rug, thus suddenly turning a lot of eyeballs on her. "If he had mentioned our marriage from the very beginning, I think the public would not have made an issue of it and find it more endearing that he had some insight being involved in a failed marriage," she said.

Being cheated on is never a good feeling, and according to Debbie Higgins McCall, it was Phil McGraw's inability to remain faithful to her that ultimately spelled the end of their brief marriage. However, what likely hurt McCall even more than McGraw's alleged affairs was his response to being called out on them.

In her 2002 interview with the Kansas City Star, McCall noted that friends and neighbors had been the ones to tip her off to her then-husband's apparent philandering. ”When I confronted him about his infidelities, he didn't deny these girls and told me that it had nothing to do with his feelings toward me, to grow up, that's the way it was in the world," she said. If this is account is accurate, these remarks from McGraw are a far cry from the advice he gave a woman whose husband had been cheating on her during a 2006 episode of "Dr. Phil": "You are a beautiful, intelligent, articulate, vibrant young woman, and you don't have to settle for this kind of crap. You don't have to."

When she and McGraw split in 1973, McCall left their shared home in Topeka, Kansas and returned to her hometown of Kansas City. At the time of the 2002 interview, she worked as the manager of a liquor store there. ”I understand that in any relationship there are two sides to the story,” McCall said, adding, ”In my relationship with Phil, I have kept my side quiet for all these years because I couldn't see any good coming from sharing it.”

In her October 2002 interview, Debbie Higgins McCall noted that, at the time, the last time she spoke to ex-husband Phil McGraw was during their 30th high school reunion a few years prior. However, their interaction at the event was evidently a short one, but life goes on. McGraw would have already been married to current wife Robin for decades at that point, and McCall had apparently moved on as well. Unfortunately, both McCall and her new partner would be dead within 12 years of her interview.

According to an obituary published by the Kansas City Star (via Legacy), McCall passed away in September 2014 at the age of 63. Not only that, but her partner, a man by the name of Tony Burasco, had himself died sometime prior, as had McCall's mother and sister. She was survived by her two children and two stepchildren, as well as her brother and several grandchildren. A number of people took the time to memorialize McCall in the comment section. "So sorry to hear of Debbie's death. She will forever be the darling cheerleader and homecoming queen in my mind. Her smile would light up a room," one individual wrote. "Debbie was part of the best memories of our high school. Everyone loved her. She was always ready with something nice to say about everyone. Rest in peace Debbie," another added. As far as we can tell, however, Phil McGraw did not publicly acknowledge his first wife's passing.