Who Is Jerry Springer's Wife? All About Micki Velton (and How He Described Their ‘Totally Normal Life’ Years Before His 2023 Death)

Jerry Springer had a “special love” for his wife Micki Velton.

The talk show host and former mayor of Cincinnati wed Velton in 1973, and the pair were married for almost 50 years until his death from pancreatic cancer in April 2023.

Springer and Velton shared one child, daughter Katie Springer, whom they welcomed in 1976.

Related: All About Jerry Springer's Daughter, Katie Springer

Although Velton lived a private life out of the spotlight and Springer did not often speak about his wife publicly, Katie told PEOPLE in 2023 that family meant everything to Springer.

“He was very protective of his family, and he wanted his family to have what they wanted,” she said.

So, who is the late Jerry Springer’s wife? Here's everything to know about Micki Velton and her relationship with the TV host.

She married Springer in 1973

Springer and Velton married in 1973.

The couple reportedly met on a blind date four years prior.

She is a mother and grandmother

In 1976, Springer and Velton welcomed their only child, daughter Katie Springer.

Katie is legally blind and deaf in one ear. She was also born without nasal passages, a condition that was fixed through surgery after she was born.

“I’ve heard this story that when I was first born and [my parents] heard about all these problems, they just said, ‘We’re never going to treat her different, we’re going to make sure she knows she’s not different,' ” Katie told Access Hollywood in 2006.

Katie got married that year and welcomed a son, Richard, in 2008. Springer told Smashing Interviews Magazine in 2014 that his and Velton’s grandson was his “greatest joy” and that they “do normal things” as a family.

“We like movies and sports,” Springer said. “Even though I have a crazy show, I basically live a totally normal life."

She and Springer were married for almost 50 years

Before his death, Springer spoke about Velton's impact on his life and thanked her by name when he announced his retirement from television in 2022.

The couple were just two months shy of their 50th wedding anniversary when Springer died of pancreatic cancer on April 27, 2023.

“I just think that's a very important thing for people to know. For me, it's like a very special love story,” their daughter Katie told PEOPLE in 2023, adding, “They had ups and downs like all couples do, but they came through it in one piece."

Shortly after Springer’s death, Rabbi Sandford Kopnick of The Valley Temple in Cincinnati, where the Judge Jerry alum was a member, told PEOPLE that the late television personality was "the most devoted husband and father and grandfather” and “a remarkable family man.”

She stayed out of the spotlight

Though Springer was in the public eye, Velton remained private.

She did, however, join her husband for some high-profile events, including the Annual White House Correspondents’ Association Pre-Dinner Reception in Washington, D.C., in 2003. The husband-and-wife duo were also spotted out and about on occasion, like on a 2003 lunch date at La Goulue Restaurant in New York and a 2015 trip to Disneyland in California.

But, the former Baggage host told Smashing Interviews Magazine that when he wasn’t on set, he was focused on his family.

“I don’t get to watch much TV because I’m working, and when I’m home, I’m with the family,” Springer said.

They lived together in Florida

Springer was based in Chicago for years but by 2011, he and Velton were living in Sarasota, Fla. He told paparazzi at the time that he would travel for his show, which first filmed in New York before later moving to Connecticut.

In retirement, Springer said he was looking forward to helping his wife around the house.

"I've got to learn how to cook, to give Micki a day or two off," he joked in his 2022 retirement statement. "Otherwise, we'll starve."

Read the original article on People