Curious about Elon Musk’s marriages and divorces? My feature in Nicki Swift shares the partnerships that failed, and those that ended yet survive to this day. #ElonMusk
Elon Musk’s love life often recalls his on-and-off relationship with Grimes, but before that, he had two marriages with unusual dynamics.
His first wife, author Justine Musk, called herself his “starter wife” in Marie Claire. They met in college, where Elon admired her ambition, telling her she had “a fire in [her] soul.”
Over time, his support waned. On their wedding day, he told her, “I am the alpha in this relationship.” She brushed it off—until she realized he meant it.
Journalist Tessa writes, “Speaking exclusively to Nicki Swift, relationship expert and bestselling author of “Breakup Triage: The Cure for Heartache,” Susan Winter noted that Elon and Justine’s dual ambition was likely a recipe for disaster right from the start. “Both are strong minded and strong willed. That leaves just two possible positions on the game board — acquiesce with resentment or battling for dominance,” she said. Sure enough, things took a turn for the worse.”
Elon began stifling Justine’s aspirations
As Elon became more consumed by work, he grew distant and dismissive of Justine’s career, even telling her she “read too much” and disregarding her book deadlines—a stark contrast to his earlier support.
However, what hurt the most was his emotional unavailability. Despite attempts at couples therapy, his demanding career left little room for repair. Just a month in, he issued an ultimatum: “Either we fix this marriage today, or I will divorce you tomorrow.” The next day, he followed through.
And, as Susan Winter pointed out in her exclusive conversation with us, that wasn’t exactly surprising. “Running multiple major companies hardly makes Elon the kind of guy who comes home at 6 p.m. to relax on the sofa, cuddling with his wife and watching Netflix,” she said.
Elon Musk’s second marriage looked like a cliché, but wasn’t
Weeks after filing for divorce, Elon Musk had already moved on with his much younger second wife, Talulah Riley—something Justine couldn’t ignore. “My life with this man had devolved to a cliché,” she wrote in Marie Claire.
Ironically, she and Riley got along well during the divorce, even joking that their situation felt like a French film. Justine ultimately admitted that Riley was a better match for Elon than she had been.
That Elon and Riley were genuinely well-suited to one another is something Susan Winter remarked on in her exclusive conversation with us as well. “From all accounts, she added a sense of stability and calm to his otherwise stressful and chaotic life,” Winter told us while again Riley’s friendly dynamic with Justine.
As for the notable age gap (something we’ve long seen as a sign Elon and Riley’s marriage wouldn’t last), Winter wasn’t convinced that had played all that big a role, either. “Do men in general seek a younger second wife? Certainly. It’s considered a perk of empowerment. If they have enough money and prestige, an older man can attract a much younger wife who’s keen to trade in her youth for a luxurious lifestyle. In Talulah’s case, however, that was not her aim,” she said. All that said, even though the relationship might not have been as stereotypical as it looked, Elon’s second marriage didn’t go the distance, either — and that’s true of both attempts.
Elon and Talulah had an on-and-off relationship
Elon Musk and Talulah Riley may have made a good match early on, but as we said, they certainly had their share of problems. As we’ve alluded to, Musk and Riley were married twice — and between those two marriages, they filed for divorce multiple times. With their tally coming to three altogether, that was certainly a red flag.
Even with the red flag, though, speaking to Nicki Swift about what may have been behind all the on-and-off, Susan Winter pointed out that it certainly didn’t mean there was any lack of love. In fact, she noted that the opposite was true. “It shows there’s enough good in the relationship to give it a second shot, but also enough unresolved issues to make it unsustainable,” she explained.
Speaking exclusively with Nicki Swift, Susan Winter pointed out that while every marriage was essentially a practice round, in the case where a first marriage dissolved and a second, more amicable one took place, that first one could be considered “the warm-up for a second marriage that offers the chance for growth and a better outcome.”
