He also once dated a former ‘Survivor’ contestant. Here’s everything to know about the longtime host’s love life.
Jeff Probst is a famous face, and one might even say the godfather of reality television. As the host, executive producer and showrunner of Survivor, his work is the blueprint for many successful reality shows. Plus, Survivor is still going strong 25 years after its first season, a feat not many TV shows have accomplished.
Though he’s on our screens for two seasons of Survivor every year, viewers may not know much about Probst’s home life. Here’s the scoop on who he’s married to and their relationship timeline, as well as who he’s dated in the past (including a Survivor contestant).
Is Jeff Probst married?
Jeff Probst, 63, is married to former model Lisa Ann Russell, who is 10 years younger than him at 53 years old.
Who is Jeff Probst’s wife Lisa Ann Russell and what does she do for a living?
Lisa Ann Russell is a former model and actress. She started her modeling career for Revlon while she was in college, and in 1992 she shifted her focus to acting.
Though she didn’t act for very long, in ‘93 she played a minor role in Saved By The Bell: The College Years, where she met her first husband Mark-Paul Gosselaar. Russell and Gosselaar were married from 1996 to 2010 and share two children together.
When did Jeff Probst and Lisa Ann Russell meet?
Probst and Russell met in late 2009 at Survivor creator Mark Burnett’s annual Christmas party.
“It’s the craziest Christmas party I’ve ever been to,” Probst told Larry King in 2012, “because of the eclectic group of people there. […] You have Gary Busey doing pressure points on your arm. Meanwhile, there’s Barbra Streisand talking to Paris Hilton on the other couch.”
Probst noticed Russell in the crowd, and the pair hit it off and started dating not long after. They made their first public appearance as a couple in August 2010 at the Emmy Awards.
When did Jeff Probst and Lisa Ann Russell get married?
Probst and Russell, who had both been married before, elected to have a private ceremony in Probst’s backyard in Los Angeles. They wed on Dec. 5, 2011, just a few years after the Christmas party that introduced them.
Does Jeff Probst have kids?
Jeff Probst doesn’t have any biological kids. However, he is the stepfather to Russell’s two children, Michael and Ava, whom she shares with ex-husband Gosselaar.
“I always thought I would have this family and this great family unit, because that’s what I came from,” Probst said in his 2012 Larry King interview. “And then, one day, I met this woman, and it happened. And she had two kids.”
Russell and Gosselaar appear to have a healthy co-parenting relationship that’s allowed Probst to be an involved stepdad. He said, “They raised these kids with the kind of love that they just see […] us as two more parents,” referring to himself and Gosselaar’s second wife, Catriona McGinn.
Has Jeff Probst been married before?
Probst was married once before to psychotherapist Shelly Wright from 1996 to 2001. They split just a year after Survivor came on air, so it’s possible his sudden rise to fame had a negative impact on the marriage.
Who has Jeff Probst dated?
Aside from his two marriages, Probst had a long-term relationship with former Survivor contestant Julie Berry. Berry participated in the ninth season of the show – Survivor: Vanuatu – and the couple announced their relationship post-finale in December 2004.
Probst reportedly emailed Berry “to say hello” after production wrapped. “The funny thing was there was this perception we were flirting on the show, and that was actually just fun stuff on the show. I didn’t really talk to Julie until long after the show was over,” he told People.
He continued, “Once we started spending some time together, I didn’t have any doubt. I didn’t have any doubt and all the questions about how you meet and any potential obstacles, they fade away like an old dry leaf.”
At the time, Probst was 43 years old and Berry had just turned 24. She was working as a youth mentor in Gorham, Maine, and moved to California to get her master’s in family counseling. She and Probst dated until 2008. According to a Collider article, they couldn’t make the relationship work due to Probst’s demanding filming schedule.
