Strange Things About Joy Behar's Marriage That Everyone Ignores

With her feisty sense of humor, outspoken opinions, and rumors of being an absolute diva to work with, Joy Behar has made a name for herself. Since her bold personality tends to take center stage and overshadow others in her life, it's easy to forget that Behar has been married for well over a decade now. Husband Steve Janowitz is not a public figure, although he does come up from time to time during Behar's discussions on her show, "The View." However, having a practically invisible husband is just one of several things that feel slightly off about their marriage.

The couple has been attached to each other in some form since 1982, though you wouldn't know it from Behar's social media presence. With more photos of her dog than snaps of Janowitz on Behar's Instagram, it seems his lack of presence is preferred. While it may be safe to assume that all parties involved like things this way, it still feels a bit unusual. Of course, Janowitz's tendency to remain on the sidelines and let Behar steal the show isn't the only odd thing about the couple. In fact, their love story is seemingly full of surprising twists and turns.

Joy Behar and husband Steve Janowitz had quite the unconventional meet-cute. Apparently, the two bumped into each other at a semi-nude resort, though Behar alleges she was actually clothed at the time. While it might not have been love at first sight — the two officially introduced themselves to one another while fully clothed at a movie theater later the same day — it has nonetheless become a repeated anecdote for Behar.

Behar recalled seeing Janowitz for the first time while yapping with guest Andrew Yang on "The View" in 2020. "He was far away naked," she said (via The Sun). She followed it up by reaffirming that she "saw him fully dressed" at the movies later, but did mention the raised eyebrows she gets when she tells the tale. "I tell that story, and people are like, 'Joy, really?'"

Those reactions to the anecdote certainly haven't stopped Behar from bringing it up. In January of 2024, the women of "The View" were discussing the time Jason Kelce literally lost his shirt to celebrate his brother, Taylor Swift's fiancé, Travis Kelce, after his win on the football field. Behar admitted she would never tear her shirt off in public, but said she "couldn't care less" if others did (per People). Of course, this allowed Behar to bring up how she and Janowitz met, while also asserting, "He was nude, I was dressed." It's certainly an interesting story, but Behar might be mining this particular anecdote as a way to avoid discussing other parts of her relationship that might not put her in the best light.

Though Joy Behar may love to share the strange way she and husband Steve Janowitz met, there are other aspects of their relationship that are strange in different ways. For starters, there's the fact that she and Janowitz were together for nearly 30 years without being married, with Behar having a difficult time saying, "I do." There is one major possible reason behind Behar's caginess towards the institution of marriage — her divorce from Joe Behar.

Behar and her husband divorced in 1981 after 16 years of marriage, and she noticed the toll it took on her 11-year-old daughter at the time. In a February 2026 interview with People, Behar said of her daughter, "She was in shock." Perhaps it's this fear that led Behar to drag out her pre-marital relationship with Janowitz for as long as she did.

Having been together since 1982, Behar and Janowitz were slated to finally tie the knot in 2009, but she backed out at the last minute. According to a report from The New York Daily News, Behar admitted to getting "cold feet again," suggesting this wasn't her first stint as a runaway bride. "It's off the table," she said at the time. "What'll happen is, when I decide to do it, I'll do it, and then everybody will know I did it. I can't make up my mind."

Fortunately, Janowitz remained understanding. "Steve is fine," Behar shared, adding, "He says, 'Do whatever you want.'" Their relationship weathered the storm, and the two did eventually make it down the aisle in August 2011. "The View" star even got her anti-wedding co-host, Whoopi Goldberg, to attend the event, though the timing of the wedding was somewhat suspicious.

Though there were likely many reasons Joy Behar dragged her feet to the altar, one in particular stands out as the strangest. Aside from her earlier divorce, it seems that, more than anything, Behar simply didn't want to have to deal with her in-laws. "I waited until all the parents were dead," she admitted on a November 2011 sit-down with Rachael Ray (via People). For her part, Behar bemoaned that her interpretation of marriage "is mostly about in-laws ... they always want you to visit them and come for lasagna."

While she may have been mostly joking, it is a bit odd that she and Steve Janowitz waited until all their parents had passed away to tie the knot. There seems to be a rogue independent streak that Behar holds onto, one that seemingly prevented her from getting married earlier. When Behar got cold feet in 2009, the timing coincided with her getting her own talk show on HLN. Perhaps having this boost to her career was at odds with the more domestic expectations of marriage, especially if it involved extended family dinners with in-laws. Either way, the timing points to yet another strangely morbid facet of her relationship with Janowitz.

Joy Behar raised some eyebrows with her response to 2020's Sexiest Man Alive, using it as an opportunity to discuss why she likes her men young. In a March 2024 episode of "The View," Behar admitted she thinks it's "scientifically smart" for women to date younger men. She justified it by using some rather somber statistics, stating (via People), "[W]omen basically live six years longer than men. So if you go with a guy who's younger than you, you probably die at the same time." While the comedian most likely meant this as a lighthearted way to broach the topic of death, it gets a little too close to home when taking into account her own age gap with Steve Janowitz.

"My husband is seven years younger than me," Behar divulged, adding that she likes that he can take care of her instead of the other way around. "He drives at night, he does the heavy lifting ... he'll wheel me around instead of I'm wheeling him around."

For all their quirks and oddities, it does seem that Behar and Janowitz continue to enjoy each other's company. Considering all they've been through together, it's apparent that Janowitz is happy to let Behar take the spotlight and do her own thing, and she's content to still have him around.