Chevy Chase Is A Family Man Meet His Spouse And Children

If you have been following Chevy Chase for a long time, you already know that his professional life has been nothing but flourishing. The 79-year-old New York native currently holds 103 acting credits and 14 writing credits.

However, the same couldn’t be said regarding his early love life. The American actor has been married thrice, with the first two ending in a divorce. Thankfully, his present marriage has been stable and blissful.

Chase’s first marriage was with a woman named Susan Hewitt. As per his biography titled I’m Chevy Chase… and You’re Not, he met his first wife at a rock concert where he was performing with his band Chameleon Church.

At the time, he was 25 and she was 19. The biography also reveals that Hewitt got pregnant with Chase’s child but agreed to abortion if he married her. The two walked down the aisle on February 23, 1973, in an intimate ceremony in New York City.

Likewise, not much information is known about their marital relationship. But it has been reported that they didn’t welcome any children while being married. Chase and Hewitt’s relationship collapsed almost three years later, as they filed for divorce on February 1, 1976.

Per the same biography, their marriage ended after Hewitt allegedly left Chase and ran off with a man. “She had an affair and simply left. That was the end of that,” the actor told author Rena Fruchter.

In the same year, on December 4, 1976, the writer tied the knot for the second time with Jacqueline Carlin. Chase’s second wife is a former American actress who passed away on July 1, 2021, after a long battle with cancer — she was 78 at the time of her death.

Returning to their relationship, things were going well between the love birds. However, as years passed, things began to sour, and they eventually divorced on November 14, 1980. Per reports, Carlin received $400,000 as part of their divorce settlement.

Chevy Chase and his ex-wife, Jacqueline Carlin, in 1976 (Photo: Fred Hermansky)

The reason behind their split remains unknown. They didn’t have any children. Years later, the actor spoke of his second divorce and told People that splitting with someone was painful and he didn’t have a carefree bachelor life.

Chevy Chase married for the third time in 1982

Chevy had two failed marriages in a short period, but he didn’t lose his faith in love. And the third time worked as a charm for him, as he is still in a blissful marital relationship with his third and current wife, Jayni Chase (née. Luke).

The former Saturday Night Live member first met his future wife while both of them were working on the movie Under the Rainbow. And, as per the actor’s interview with PBS, Jayni wasn’t interested in him.

During the interview, Chevy recalled a conversation he had with Jayni and stated, “I was walking behind her one day, and I said, ‘Is that your real color hair?’ and she couldn’t care less about me.”

Jayni, who was also a part of the interview, later added that she wasn’t much into relationships then, but Chevy’s charm wore her down. This led to their June 19, 1982, wedding in Pacific Palisades.

As time passed, their relationship became stronger and stronger, with both being by each other’s side through thick and thin. For instance, Jayni was there to defend her husband from his public missteps.

In her 2018 interview with The Washington Post, she mentioned that the reason behind her life partner’s abrasive personality was his upbringing, as his mother physically and verbally abused him. She stated, “Chevy is an abused kid.”

“One of the things that most of us have is, we know that our moms loved us, and some of us are lucky enough to be able to say that our fathers also loved us … there are layers of lucky and grateful…,” she added.

Chevy Chase with his wife, Jayni Chase, in August 2023 (Photo: Instagram)

“…and things that give you a good start in life, and a foundation and self-confidence, and give you the capacity to live without fear. And Chevy doesn’t have those things,” she concluded her statement.

Similarly, Chevy has credited his wife for helping him get sober. Jayni told The Washington Post that she once left a note for Chevy where she wrote, “I do not want to divorce you, but I can’t watch you hurt yourself anymore.”

In Chevy’s own words, during his 1983 interview with People, he said, “When I met Jayni, what was I, a Bowery bum? She got me right out of the doldrums I’d been in for three years. Under her very straight influence, there is no smoking of pot, no drugs, no drinking. It’s a very clean life.”

Likewise, during the same interview, the Zombie Town actor mentioned that he prefers not to accept romantic roles as he doesn’t want his children to see him kissing a woman who isn’t their mother.

All in all, it’s pretty safe to say that Jayni has influenced her husband’s life very positively, and Chevy is lucky to have such a woman as a wife in his life. As of now, the couple are still together and live in harmony in Bedford, New York.

Chevy Chase is a father of four children

Besides being a husband to his amazing wife, Chevy is also a wonderful father to his four children, among whom three are daughters, and one is a son. His daughters are Caley Leigh Chase, Emily Evelyn Chase, and Cydney Cathalene Chase.

The name of his only son is Bryan Perkins, who also happens to be his eldest child. Born in 1979, he is currently 43 years of age. Perkins has been credited in movies like The Sisters, The Toxic Avenger Part II, and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie.

Chevy Chase with his wife, Jayni Chase, and their three daughters (Photo: Instagram)

Besides this, there is little to no information available about Chevy’s son. It has been reported that Chevy welcomed Perkins long before his first marriage. So, the identity of Perkins’ mother remains undisclosed. The relationship between Chevy and Perkins is also unknown.

Coming over to Chevy’s other kids, the first one on the list is his eldest daughter, Cydney Chase, born in 1983. Chevy shares Cydney, along with Emily and Caley, with his third and current wife.

Speaking more of Cydney, she is an aspiring singer-songwriter. And besides that, she is a proud daughter, which her Instagram bio proves. She has written, “Singer-Songwriter, Proud Daughter, Sister to 2 brilliant women Nature Lover Painting and Yoga grateful.”

Caley is the middle child of Chevy and Jayni, who was born in 1985, two years after Cydney’s birth. Caley is a mix of her father and older sister, as she has pursued a career as an actress and a singer.

Likewise, Emily is the youngest daughter of Chevy and Jayni — Emily was born in 1988. Unlike her sisters, Emily has followed in the footsteps of her mother and is currently working in wildlife conservation.

As of now, Chevy has maintained a good relationship with his daughters. He could be seen sharing pictures and videos alongside them and vice-versa. Furthermore, his daughters don’t miss a chance to wish their father on his birthday with a heartfelt caption.

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