Terry Crews and Rebecca King-Crews stuck together no matter what.
The actor met his wife before he became a football star and well before his rise to fame on both the big and small screens. Both attended Western Michigan University in the 1980s, and although their paths crossed on campus, the chemistry wasn’t instant.
“He’s almost stuck in the friend zone,” Rebecca said Hey! News in 2018. “He was a little too nice.”
Their relationship eventually became romantic, and they got married in 1989 and started a family. After playing in the NFL from 1991 to 1997, Terry devoted himself to acting, and in 2010 the whole family got a reality series called Family crews.
However, Terry and Rebecca’s relationship had its ups and downs. In 2014, Terry got candid with fans in his book, Masculinity: How to be a better man – or just live with oneand admitted that he lived with an addiction to pornography, which almost cost him his marriage to Rebecca.
The couple summarized their struggles and efforts to improve their marriage in their audiobook, Stronger together.
“When I talk about forgiveness, I’m not advocating stupidity, but there is a freedom and a whole new life available to you when you operate in that grace,” Rebecca told PEOPLE in 2021.
So who is Terry Crews’ wife? Here’s everything you need to know about Rebecca King-Crews and her relationship with the actor.
She grew up in Indiana
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Rebecca was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan, but grew up in Gary, Indiana. She was crowned Miss Gary at the 1984 Miss Indiana Pageant and later reflected on the honor more than 30 years later, sharing a photo from the event on Instagram.
“Bring back Thur[s]day! Me as MISS GARY in 1984 at the Miss Indiana pageant in Michigan City, IN! To my right, one of the 1st AAF winners, Teri Shulz!” she captioned the post.
Rebecca also looked back at her artist and theater friends from Indiana in a throwback photo posted on Instagram in 2021.
“This is an early photo of me and my friends performing for a civic event, attended by the mayor and other dignitaries,” she captioned the post. “I was always a bit of a director, writing in arranging parts, playing piano and leading a group. Those were such great memories and such a big part of who I am as a person.”
She added: “What amazing fond memories of finding ourselves, developing our talents and creating great things in our lives! With love to you all, give a shout out to the friends from the past who helped make you who you are today.”
Her father was a musician
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Rebecca was the first child of parents Samuel Dean King and Anna Mae Parks. He also has two younger siblings, Elizabeth Jane and Samuel Taylor.
Her father, who was a musician, died in 1972 when she was only 6 years old. In June 2021, she shared a sweet tribute to him on Father’s Day.
“Happy Father’s Day to my biological father. Samuel Dean King went to be with the Lord on June 11, 1972, exactly one month after this photo was taken on my sister’s birthday. That’s me on the far left 🙂 I didn’t know my father really, my memories of him are vague and faint,” she wrote.
In the description, she revealed that her father played the piano and that she “inherited his love of music and his tendency to play by ear rather than by sight.”
Rebecca remained close to her mother. In July 2021, she dedicated a post to her mom on her birthday, praising her in the caption.
“My flashback Friday is dedicated to my beautiful mom! Happy birthday Anna Banana – you are a national treasure,” she wrote. “Thank you for all the laughs and all the good times, all the good behavior and all the good food! You taught me compassion, you taught me courage and you showed me that I can overcome anything.”
She is a singer
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While attending Western Michigan University, Rebecca studied music and theater, graduating in 1987.
In 2014, she released her first single “Can I Stay”. She introduced her pseudonym, Regina Madre, years later to get an honest opinion about her music.
“I found that I was primarily judged on the basis of my notoriety and not on the basis of my music, so I decided to remain anonymous and create a pseudonym,” she told Authoritet magazine.
The singer debuted with her first self-titled album, Regina Madre2021, and has released several singles, including “What You Wanna Do?” and “Never Be the Same”.
She married Terry in 1989
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After several years of dating, the students got married on July 29, 1989.
To celebrate 30 years of marriage in 2019, Terry and Rebecca threw a lavish party at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, with family and famous friends including Olivia Munn, Stevie Wonder and Chris Daughtry.
“In the 30 years since we were first married, there have been times when life seemed to speed up—our five kids going from diapers to high school, a seven-year NFL stint with six different teams, careers in music and entertainment that we launched last week, but we’re actually over 20 years,” the couple told PEOPLE exclusively.
They continued, “Through it all, these obstacles have actually made us stronger… by having the knowledge that our feelings followed our decisions, not the other way around.”
“Choosing to love each other year after year has proven to be the best decision we’ve ever made. Time has always had a wonderful way of showing us what’s truly important,” Terry added.
In 2023, the couple celebrated 34 years of marriage with a romantic trip.
“Honey, you’re still the one,” Rebecca wrote on Instagram.
She is the mother of five children
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The couple are the proud parents of five children.
Rebecca has a daughter, Naomi, from a previous relationship, whom Terry adopted after their wedding. They also share daughters Azriél, Tera and Wynfrey, as well as son Isaiah.
However, the path to starting a family was not easy. In September 2024, Terry revealed to PEOPLE that Rebecca had experienced three miscarriages in the past. “My wife and I know what it’s like to lose a child,” he said.
Isaiah followed in the footsteps of his famous father and is engaged in acting. He starred in the Nickelodeon show The crowd on the sideplaying a character named Munchy, for two seasons before the show was canceled.
Azriél also dabbled in acting, appearing on Demolition, High maintenance, I send and Younger. In 2023, she booked a role in a rom-com Maybe I willstarring Diane Keaton, Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon, William H. Macy and Emma Roberts.
Rebecca and Terry became grandparents for the first time when their oldest daughter Naomi gave birth to her daughter Miley Crews.
She beat breast cancer
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Rebecca revealed to PEOPLE her stage 1 breast cancer diagnosis in April 2020 after undergoing a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery.
“Even though it was stage 1, you’re overwhelmed with fear, like cancer is this all-consuming, all-powerful evil entity,” she said.
Terry was the first person she told about the diagnosis.
“My husband was looking at what I was going through, but the look on his face… he looked at me like I was going to die,” Rebecca told PEOPLE. “He told me he felt like he was melting inside. I said, ‘I need you to be strong for me,’ and he said, ‘Okay,’ and he hugged me, but I think he I needed that hug.”
After the procedure, it was declared that there is no cancer.
She and Terry got over his infidelity
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Terry and Rebecca nearly split in 2010 after the actor admitted to being unfaithful and addicted to pornography. The couple opened up about how they mended their relationship in an Audible Original titled Stronger together.
“In my opinion, he’s the hero of our story,” Rebecca told PEOPLE in 2021. “He chose to take on this battle and really become a better person.”
While they worked through their relationship issues, Terry wanted to remain completely transparent with the kids.
“All our kids know they had nothing to do with anything bad that happened between me and their mom,” the father of five said. “I want to be a good role model for them, a person who is transparent and allows them to be free and do whatever they want [process the information].”
In July 2023, Terry appeared on Dax Shepard’s podcast, Armchair expertand described the moment he told Rebecca about his infidelity.
“I’ll never forget that sigh. She said, ‘Get out. Don’t ever come home. I’m done,'” he shared. “My wife is very intuitive. She knew all along.”
After a stint in rehab, Terry was able to revive his marriage.
To have that person who cares about you more than anything, I didn’t think I was worthy of that, he said.
He has his own clothing line
Terry Crews and Crews at the Rebecca Crews Fashion Show at Bernhardt Gallery 2023.
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Rebecca launched her eponymous clothing line in 2021. Since then, she has dressed celebrities including reality star Cynthia Bailey, Christina Milian, Avril Lavigne and her husband Terry.
“Yes! This is my wife’s line! Rebecca Crews. Shoes, everything. She brings it down. There are people all over Hollywood wearing her clothes, including me,” Terry said NBC Insider about the kit he wore in the final America has talent in 2023. “I’m honored to have such a talented family. We’re a family of artists. If we have an idea, we have to make it. And I’m just proud of it.”
She and Terry have walked many red carpets
Terry Crews and Rebecca King-Crews at the 2024 Netflix Academy Awards After Party on March 10, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
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Over the years, Rebecca has been Terry’s sidekick at numerous movie premieres, awards shows and charity events. Recently, the couple attended Netflix’s Oscars 2024 party in Los Angeles.
She says that “forgiveness” is the key to a long-lasting marriage
While speaking with PEOPLE ahead of her and Terry’s 35th wedding anniversary in July 2024, Rebecca shared her best advice for couples.
“The key principle in any relationship is forgiveness,” she said. “You can’t hold grudges and stay together.” Terry added: “The advice I always give is that you can’t love someone and control them at the same time. A lot of the things I did wrong early in our marriage didn’t involve love, they involved control.”
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Source: HIS Education