Remembering Mary Tyler Moore's Weddings and Off-Screen Sweethearts

On Wednesday, January 25, 2017, actress Mary Tyler Moore passed away at the age of 80. Famous for her role on The Dick Van Dyke Show and the eponymous The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Moore is credited as a feminist icon, ushering in a new type of role for women on television—one that is not simply defined as "the wife" to a male lead.

When The Mary Tyler Moore Show debuted in 1970, the world was introduced to Mary Richards, a single 30-something career woman working at a Minneapolis television station. As the theme song said, throughout her life, Moore turned the world on with her smile—including the husbands who fell in love with her gorgeous grin along the way.

Although the actress's on-screen counterpart, Mary Richards, remained unmarried at the close of the series, Mary Tyler Moore was really three-times-a-bride, marrying a total of three husbands over the course of her life.

Her First Husband: Richard Carleton Meeker

The first: Richard Carleton Meeker, a producer whom she wed at the age of 18 in 1955. The following year, the couple welcomed their first and only child, Richie (who would later tragically die in a freak gun accident in 1980). But the pair soon called it quits, divorcing in 1961.

Her On-Screen Husband: Dick Van Dyke

That same year marked the beginning of The Dick Van Dyke Show, in which Moore portrayed Laura Petrie, the wife of Dick Van Dyke's character, Rob Petrie, in the sitcom. And yes, we know Moore wasn't really married to the legendary actor, obvi. But how could we not include a photo of these two cuties playing the bride and groom?!

Her Second Marriage: Grant Tinker

Moore's second IRL hubby was CBS executive Grant Tinker. Moore and Tinker tied the knot on June 1, 1962, in Las Vegas, at Nevada's Dunes Hotel.

In 1970, the couple formed a television production company, MTM Enterprises, together. MTM Enterprises would later debut The Mary Tyler Moore show that same year. Four years after the end of the sitcom and after almost 19 years together, Tinker and Moore divorced in 1981.

Her Third Husband: Dr. Robert Levine

Moore found love for the third time in 1982 when her mother became ill with bronchitis and a New York City cardiologist named Dr. Robert Levine paid her a house call. "I said to Mary, 'If there's an emergency just get in touch with me,'" Levine recalled of the meeting to People magazine. "And Mary said, 'Does acute loneliness count?' And I said, 'Yes.'"

The pair wed two years later in November of 1984 at New York City's Pierre Hotel. "You'd never know this is her third wedding," a friend shared with People at the time. "All she talks about is her dress and how excited she is."

"Mary's filled with joy because she and Robert are friends as well as loving each other," explained her Mary Tyler Moore co-star (and bridesmaid!), Valerie Harper. "He makes her feel cherished."

He cherished Moore for the next 33 years and, according to a statement made by her rep, was by her side when she died. And we're sure that he—as well as the rest of the world—will go on cherishing the beloved actress.