Is Robin Givens Married? Her Marriages and Love Life Explained

The Short Answer

No, Robin Givens is not currently married. The 61-year-old actress and director has been married twice: first to boxer Mike Tyson in 1988 — a union that became one of the most sensational celebrity marriages of the decade — and later to tennis instructor Svetozar Marinkovic in 1997. Both marriages ended in divorce, and Givens has not remarried. She played Darlene Merriman in the ABC sitcom Head of the Class in 1986, remaining on the series for its five-year duration, and her marriage to Tyson in 1988 drew considerable media attention, as did their divorce. She later became a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline for several years. Now 61 (born November 27, 1964, in New York City), Givens works as an actress and director, is the mother of two sons and keeps her romantic life private. There is no current husband, no confirmed partner — just a woman who survived two of Hollywood's most scrutinized marriages and built a life on her own terms.

Marriage to Mike Tyson (1988-1989)

Givens married Mike Tyson on February 7, 1988, at the height of his powers — he was the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, 21 years old and the most feared fighter on the planet. She was 23, a rising sitcom star. The marriage was a media inferno from the start: the beauty and the beast narrative, the wealth, the volatility. Within months, reports of trouble surfaced. The breaking point came in a joint interview with Barbara Walters in September 1988, in which Givens — with Tyson sitting beside her — described him as manic-depressive and their marriage as 'torture, pure hell.' Tyson, stone-faced, barely responded. The image seared into public memory. Givens filed for divorce, which was finalized in 1989; she received a reported $10 million settlement. She later said she feared for her safety, and she became a spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, turning her trauma into advocacy. Tyson has given conflicting accounts over the years. The marriage lasted barely a year but defined both of them in the public eye for decades — the cautionary tale of fame, youth, money and violence.

Marriage to Svetozar Marinkovic (1997-1998)

Nearly a decade after Tyson, Givens married tennis instructor Svetozar Marinkovic in 1997. The marriage was far lower-profile than her first — no heavyweight titles, no Barbara Walters interviews — but it too was brief: they separated within months and divorced in 1998. Little is publicly documented about the relationship, and Givens has rarely discussed it. What is known is that it represented an attempt at a normal life after the Tyson inferno: a non-celebrity husband, a quiet wedding, no media circus. That it still failed within a year suggests how deeply the first marriage's aftermath affected her approach to relationships — or simply that the match was wrong. She was 32 when she married Marinkovic and 33 when it ended. She has not married since. The two marriages, taken together, span barely two years of wedded life across six decades — a statistic that says less about Givens than about the extraordinary circumstances of her first union and the long shadow it cast.

Two Sons

Givens is the mother of two sons: Michael Givens Jensen (born 1993) and William Jensen (born 1999). Michael's father is former tennis player Murphy Jensen; William's father has been reported as her then-boyfriend. Raising two boys as a single mother — while working steadily as an actress and later director — became Givens's defining role. She has spoken about the challenges with candor: the financial pressures, the juggling, the determination to give her sons stability she did not always have. Michael, now 33, and William, now 27, were raised largely out of the spotlight, though Michael has occasionally appeared with his mother at events. At 61, Givens is close to both sons, and her social media reflects a proud mother. The boys grew up with a mother who had survived the most public marriage breakdown of the 1980s and built, quietly, the stable family life her own marriages had not provided.

Who Is Robin Givens?

Robin Givens is an American actress and director born November 27, 1964, in New York City. Raised by her mother in Mount Vernon, New York, she was a gifted student — she enrolled at Sarah Lawrence College at 15 as a pre-med major before acting intervened. Her breakout was Darlene Merriman on ABC's Head of the Class (1986-1991), where she played the wealthy, sharp-tongued student for all five seasons. Film roles (Boomerang with Eddie Murphy, A Rage in Harlem), TV movies and stage work followed. In recent decades, she has worked steadily in television (Riverdale as Sierra McCoy, Ambitions, The Family Business) and moved into directing, helming episodes of TV series. She also became a noted advocate: her years as spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline gave her trauma a purpose. Now 61, she is a working actress-director, a mother of two and a survivor — of tabloid infamy, of a violent marriage and of an industry that discards women. Her longevity is its own statement.

From Headlines to Advocacy

Givens's most important work may be what she did with her pain. After the Tyson divorce, she became the national spokesperson for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, serving for several years and lending her story — the most famous domestic-violence narrative of the era — to a cause. She spoke at events, appeared in PSAs and helped destigmatize seeking help. It was a brave choice: revisiting the worst chapter of her life, publicly, to help strangers. She has continued advocacy around domestic violence and women's empowerment in the decades since. The through-line of her post-Tyson life is transformation: the tabloid victim became an advocate, the sitcom star became a director, the twice-divorced young woman became a stable single mother. At 61, she discusses the Tyson years with the perspective of distance — acknowledging the trauma without being defined by it. The Barbara Walters interview remains a cultural artifact; the advocacy work remains a living legacy.

Robin Givens Today

At 61, Robin Givens is not married and, by all accounts, not looking to be — she keeps her romantic life entirely private, and there is no confirmed partner. She works steadily as an actress (Riverdale, Ambitions) and director, advocates for domestic violence survivors and dotes on her two sons, now 33 and 27. Born November 27, 1964, in New York City, she has lived several lives: pre-med prodigy, sitcom star, tabloid queen, advocate, director, mother. The Tyson marriage — one year, 1988-1989 — remains the most famous thing about her to casual observers, but it is the least interesting thing about her to those who know her work. Twice married, twice divorced, never remarried: the arithmetic of Robin Givens's love life tells a story of survival. No, she is not currently married — and after everything, the single life she built looks like a choice, not a consolation.

The Directing Chapter

In recent years, Givens added a new title: director. She has helmed episodes of television series — including Ambitions and others — bringing a performer's eye and a survivor's perspective to the chair. The move behind the camera is a natural evolution for a woman who spent decades in front of it: she knows sets, knows actors and knows stories. Born November 27, 1964, in New York City, she was a pre-med prodigy at 15, a sitcom star at 21, a tabloid fixture at 23 and now, at 61, a director with something to say. The directing work — steady, respected, growing — is the professional expression of her life's theme: taking control of the narrative. After years of being the story (the Tyson marriage, the Walters interview), she now tells stories. Twice married, twice divorced, mother of two, advocate, director: the chapters keep improving.

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