Throwback Pics Of Dr. Phil & His Wife Robin McGraw From The Early Years Of Their Romance
Though Dr. Phil was married to his first wife, Debbie Higgins, for just three short years, the second time was evidently the charm for the prominent daytime TV personality. As of 2026, Phil McGraw and his second wife Robin McGraw have officially been married for 50 years — contrary to the fact that, although Dr. Phil and his wife Robin have faced persistent divorce rumors over the years, the celebrity couple has a strict rule about refusing to even consider it. Throwback photos from early in their romance show just how much they have (and haven't) changed since tying the knot all those years ago.
Phil shared the pics in question on Facebook in August 2014, when he and Robin were celebrating their 38th wedding anniversary. "Back in '76 Robin McGraw told me: If you ever leave me, I'm coming with you! HA! Think I'll just stick it out!" he quipped in the post's caption at the time. While the photos themselves are undated, the context of it being an anniversary post leads us to believe they were taken sometime around when the McGraws got hitched in August 1976.
Notably, while nowadays photos of Dr. Phil's wife Robin make us miss her pre-plastic surgery face, her famous hubby was still rocking his trademark bald head and mustache combo at the time. The state of Phil's hairline in the photos suggests that they were taken a bit later in his marriage to Robin, seeing as how the TV psychologist was only 26 years old in 1976. However, that's not necessarily the case. As Phil revealed on "The Doctors" in 2009, he started losing his hair at the age of 12 (i.e. around 1962).
Dr. Phil married Robin McGraw the same day he received his master's degree in psychology
The month of August 1976 was pretty significant for Phil McGraw, given the two major life events he experienced not just that same month, but in fact, the exact same day. According to Dr. Phil, it's incredibly easy for him to remember when he received his master's degree in experimental psychology from the University of North Texas (then known as North Texas State University), as he and second wife Robin McGraw exchanged vows a mere hour after the fact. What's more, in keeping with the TV personality's humorous anniversary post from 2014, Robin apparently refused to wait even a second longer.
"Now, I remember the exact day of my master's because I was dating Robin at the time, and she wanted to get married, and I said 'Look, I want to get married to you, obviously. But, I would at least like to get my master's degree so I can feed us before we get married.' She said OK," Phil recalled while giving a commencement speech at UNT in May 2011. He continued, "Commencement was Aug. 14, 1976. I got married Aug. 14, 1976. She said, 'What time's graduation?' I said, '2:00.' She said, 'We'll do it at 3:00.' [...] It was the best decision I ever made in my life."
Dr. Phil got pretty far in school, with the TV host earning his PhD in clinical psychology from UNT in 1979. Funnily enough, though, the happy couple's marriage actually outlived the use of his degrees, in a way. While Phil declined to renew his license to practice psychology in 2006, he remains married to Robin as of 2026.