Her story raises a natural question: who wasand what happened to the woman who once shared Manilow’s life before worldwide fame change Susan Deixler, d everything?
Who Was Susan Deixler Before Barry Manilow Became Famous?
Susan Deixler and Manilow were high-school sweethearts in Brooklyn, New York. They married in 1964, when Manilow was still building his future in music.
According to Biography, the marriage lasted about a year. Manilow later explained that he was young, inexperienced and deeply focused on pursuing a musical career.
At the time, he had not yet become the performer known for hits such as “Mandy” and “Copacabana.” His career would eventually span decades, bringing him international recognition and a devoted fan base.
Susan, by contrast, did not pursue a public entertainment career. Her connection to Manilow became a part of celebrity history, but she remained largely outside the spotlight.
Why Did Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow Separate?
Manilow has spoken about the marriage in interviews over the years. His explanation has consistently centred on his youth and his determination to build a career.
In a 2017 interview reported by CBS News, he discussed his earlier marriage while talking about his long relationship with Garry Kief. Manilow had married Deixler in the 1960s, before his rise to fame.
The couple separated after roughly a year. Their marriage was later annulled, commonly dated to 1966 in biographical accounts. The separation and the legal annulment are different events, which helps explain why some accounts give different dates for the marriage’s end.
Manilow has also rejected the assumption that his later public disclosure of his sexuality meant he had never genuinely loved Susan. He has described his feelings for her as real while acknowledging that he was not ready for married life.
That distinction matters. It would be misleading to reduce their separation to speculation about his sexuality when Manilow himself has offered a different explanation.
What Did Susan Deixler Say About the Marriage?
Susan rarely discusses her former marriage publicly. One of the best-known comments attributed to her came in 2015, when media attention returned to Manilow’s personal life after news of his marriage to Kief became public.
A profile published by The Flare Magazine reports that Deixler described the relationship as “ancient history” and said she was happy for Manilow.
Her reported response was brief. She did not use the renewed attention to build a public profile or turn the relationship into an ongoing celebrity story.
Because detailed first-hand interviews with Deixler are scarce, claims about her private feelings beyond those reported comments should be treated cautiously.
What Happened to Susan Deixler After the Annulment?
This is where the verified public record becomes much thinner.
Unlike Manilow, Deixler did not become a celebrity whose career and personal life were regularly documented in interviews. Some online biographies make claims about her later career, family and residence, but those details are not consistently established by major, authoritative sources.
Her exact date of birth, current relationship status and present-day circumstances should not be stated as fact without stronger confirmation.
What can be established is that she moved away from public attention after the marriage ended. There is no well-documented public career in entertainment associated with her, and no reliable basis for assigning her a specific net worth.
The absence of detailed reporting does not mean her life lacked significance. It means the available evidence is limited, and a responsible biography should acknowledge that boundary.
How Did Barry Manilow’s Life Change After Susan?
Manilow went on to become a major figure in popular music, earning recognition as a singer, songwriter and performer. His catalogue includes “Mandy,” “I Write the Songs” and “Copacabana,” songs that helped define his career.
Years after his first marriage ended, he began a long relationship with Garry Kief, who also became his manager. The pair married in 2014 and Manilow publicly discussed their relationship in 2017.
That later chapter brought renewed attention to Susan because she had been part of his life before fame and before his decades-long partnership with Kief.
But the two relationships belong to different periods of Manilow’s life. His first marriage was a brief relationship during his youth; his marriage to Kief followed decades later.
The Final Answer: Who Is Susan Deixler?
Susan Deixler is Barry Manilow’s former high-school sweetheart and first wife. They married in 1964, separated after approximately one year, and later had their marriage annulled.
Manilow has said he loved Susan but was too young and too focused on music to be a good husband. Deixler’s reported public comments decades later suggested she regarded the relationship as part of her distant past and wished him well.
Beyond those facts, reliable information about her present life remains limited. The most accurate account separates the documented history from unsupported claims about her age, career, family or current circumstances.
