Judge Judy And Jerry Sheindlin Have Been Married For Over 40 Years

Mar 11, 2020

Aside from a brief separation in 1990 that lasted for only a year, Judy Sheindlin, better known as Judge Judy, has been married to husband Jerry Sheindlin for over 40 years. The two legal professionals, who currently live together in Florida, share a lot in common and have both starred in television shows.

Both Judge Judy and her husband seem cut from the same cloth. But despite having a lot in common, the legal couple, who first met in a bar according to the Los Angeles Times, didn’t have what most might call a romantic first encounter. As far as the legal profession is concerned, they were adversaries.

Judy was a prosecutor while Jerry was a defense attorney who had just finished a murder case. As Jerry tells the story to the Los Angeles Times, he was talking to a reporter in the bar about his case when Judy walked up and interrupted — and that’s when their relationship began.

“Judy came walking in and put her finger in my face and said, ‘And who is this?’ I said, ‘Lady, get your finger out of my face.’ We've been together ever since,” Jerry told the publication. 

And ever since that fateful day in a New York City bar, the couple has had incredibly parallel lives. Judy is, of course, known for her role as the judge on the daytime television show Judge Judy, which just earned her $51 million a year through 2021 according to Closer Weekly.

In what almost seems like destiny, more than 20 years after Jerry met Judy for the first time, the New York State Supreme Court Judge was also approached to be on the People’s Court in 1999 for its third season according to the Los Angeles Times. Jerry said yes. Just like his wife, he would pick up the gavel and star in his own legal show.

“[Judy] is the one who told me I should do it,” said Jerry in the interview. “If she had any reservations at all, I wouldn’t have done it.”

Even though they have a lot in common — from their New York background to their careers — it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the legal power couple. According to Closer Weekly, following the death of Judy’s father, she divorced Jerry in 1990 after 13 years of marriage.

“I was so sad when my father died, that an easier emotion for me to deal with was being angry at Jerry for not picking up the slack than dealing with the sadness of the loss,” she said in the interview.

The couple separated and spent the following year dating other people, but Judy felt like she had regrets. And after only one year apart, the couple got back together.

“I missed Jerry,” Judy said in the interview. “I like to have someone to fuss over. I like to be mated. It’s natural for me. I learned the hard way that sometimes what you think makes you happy won’t.”

Now the couple has five children and 13 grandchildren, and Judy is sitting comfortably atop a large fortune that includes five houses, a private jet, and a condo according to Closer Weekly. And she of course has Jerry who Judy says still “looks good.” 

So even with some bumps along the way, it’s safe to say that Judy seems satisfied--not only with her good-looking husband, but with everything. She even went so far as to describe her life as “a dream.”

What do you think about Judge Judy's husband Jerry? Let us now in the comments, and pass it on to your friends and family.