Companionship and the need to feel loved are important to us as human beings. In the quest for this companionship, some have married a number of times, some much more than others.
Over the centuries, people have had many reasons for engaging in polygamy and marrying numerous partners. Some range from the fact that their religion and tradition permit it, to the fact that they fall in love with as many partners as they choose to wed.
Others may have just been spurs of moments happening at the same time or at different times.
The stories you would read here would tell tales of some bitter-sweet marriages. For instance, Glynn Wolfe who had the title of the ‘world’s most married man’ unfortunately died alone despite being married 31 times to 29 women.
Moving on, let us meet some people who have been married the most number of times and the possible reasons for their actions.
12 People Who Have Been Married The Most Times
1. King Solomon
King Solomon of Isreal is not only famous for being the wisest king that ever lived but also for having the most wives in history. The 3rd king of Israel had 700 wives and 300 concubines.
Some of his wives included the Queen of Sheba and the daughter of the Pharoah of Egypt. He had many other wives from different tribes within and outside his kingdom. Some of these wives were given to him as gifts.
However, only one of them was recorded – Naamah was the only wife of the Israelite king that was recorded in the Bible. She is also the mother of his successor, Rehoboam.
Despite having this large number of wives, King Solomon of Isreal did not have as many children. He had only 3 children recorded in the Christian holy book. However, some records claim that Menelik I, the first emperor of Ethiopia, was his son, born to him by the Askumite Queen of Sheba.
2. Fath Ali Shah Qajar
This Iranian monarch existed between the 1700s and the 1800s. While some sources report that this monarch had 158 wives, others report he had over a thousand women whom he was joined in matrimony with.
Some sources, on the other hand, reported that this King only had 4 wives with whom he was legally married but had up to 1000 women in his harem.
This Iranian king was said to have had 57 sons and 46 daughters. However, further reports state that not all his children survived infancy, so the number could be more. His sons and daughters bore children and he had 296 grandsons and 292 granddaughters.
3. Bello Maasaba
This Nigerian man became famous after he was said to have married 130 wives and fathered 203 children. At the time that he had 86 wives, Bello Masaaba, an indigene of Niger State was mandated to divorce 82 of his wives and remained married to 4 as permitted in Islam.
Though the Emirate of Bida promised that the women he divorced would be taken care of by the state’s welfare board, Bello refused. Subsequently, he was arrested and charged with contempt of religious creed, and accused of unlawfully keeping 86 women under his roof.
His wives even led a protest asking for the release of their husband stating that none of them ever lacked anything being married to Bello. He was eventually released and left with his numerous wives.
Bello Massaba died in 2017, leaving behind 130 wives (7 of whom were pregnant), and 203 children.
4. Acentus Akuku
This Kenyan man is the first on this list to have this large number of wives without being royalty. Acentus had over a hundred wives and became famous for being the most prominent polygamist in Kenya.
He was nicknamed “Danger” because of his handsome looks and his ability to get any woman he wanted. He began his journey of polygamy in 1939, at the age of 22. At 35, he married his 45th wife and the last in 1992. He was said to have married 130 wives but divorced some and others died.
Acentus fathered almost 200 children. “Danger” was not only charming, but he was also wealthy. He owned a fleet of taxis, a general store, and a tailor’s shop, all managed by his children.
But, that is not the only incredible thing about this African Polygamist. Akuku built two elementary schools just for his children, and a church for his family.
Acentus died in 2010, at the age of 92 after a battle with diabetes. He left behind 100 widows to mourn him.
5. Lauren and David Blair
While most people on this list got married to different people, this American couple didn’t. Lauren and David were so in love, that they got married over and over, at any chance they got. The total number of times they got married was 109 times in 17 years.
Lauren and David broke the world record as the world’s most married couple in 2014. Lauren revealed that she loved having her husband look her in the eye, and promise to love her for the rest of his life.
This couple has had their ceremonies at different locations ranging from a chapel in the woods, a performing arts center, an island, and even a funeral parlor.
Interestingly, Lauren and David have gotten married on every numbered day of the month, so every day is their anniversary.
6. Giovanni Vigliotto
Of course, this list wouldn’t be complete without the mention of one of America’s biggest bigamist and fraudsters, Giovanni Vigliotto.
He operated in the 1990s and was known to have married and defrauded over a hundred women.
Vigliotto would convince these women to marry him and move in with him afterward. When they eventually do, he gathers their belongings in a moving truck and disappears, leaving the women with a promise that he will call them or be back.
A lot of the women reported him when they fell victim but the authorities were never able to fish him out.
His last victim decided to take matters into her own hands and sought him by herself. Having met Giovanni at a flea market, she started her search in all the flea markets around.
She eventually found him in Florida trying to sell off her properties. This woman alerted the police who then arrested Vigliotto.
7. Abumbi II
The 11th king of Bafut, Cameroon makes an appearance on this list for having over a hundred wives. However, It is not all of these wives that he got married to.
According to their tradition, when a king dies, his successor inherits not only his throne but also his wives which is why Abumbi II has a large number of wives and made it to this list.
Reports state that this king inherited 72 wives and 500 children after the death of his father. While he himself had 28 wives already. Despite this large number of wives, it is worthy of note that they command great respect in significance in the kingdom.
8. Kaan, The ‘Playboy King of Indonesia’
This man was nicknamed the ‘Playboy King of Indonesia’ because of the number of women he married in his lifetime.
Kaan, an Indonesian farmer from Majalengka, first got married at the age of 14 to a woman who was 2 years older than him. Subsequently, he got married more than 80 times, taking his 87th wife in 2022.
Following the end of his first marriage, this man who was described as ‘very handsome’ was left heartbroken. He revealed that the reason for the end of that marriage devastated him and so he sought a way to keep the love he shared with women, alive, no matter what.
Kaan got spiritual knowledge which made him irresistible to many women. This worked because even his first wife returned to him after their marriage ended, and all his wives have remained in love with him.
9. Warren Steed Jeffs
While some marry for the fun of it, others do so under the guise of religion. Warren Steed Jeffs, a religious leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has been married to close to 80 wives.
This religious leader did not only marry a lot of women but also married minors, including his own sisters. Among his wives was a 15-year-old, who already had a child for him.
Warren inherited 29 wives from his father, Rulon Jeffs, the former leader of the FLDS. He went on to marry more, of which 24 were minors under the age of 17, and 56 were his own sisters. He also encouraged his followers to marry at least 3 wives.
Warren was arrested and charged with two felony counts of child sexual assault and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
10. Brigham Young
Similar to the previous one, this is also a religious leader. Brigham Young was the second President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the first governor of Utah.
Famous for his polygamy, Brigham Young had at least 55 documented marriages and 57 children. He is considered the “Father of Mormon Polygamy” by some sects of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.
He married minors including Clarissa Decker, who was 15 years old at the time she became his wife. This religious leader also married widows, his mother-in-law, and even women who were already married. He also granted divorce to those who demanded it and bought houses outside Utah for his wives who needed privacy.
11. Saleh al-Sayeri
This Saudi man came into the limelight in 2005 when it was reported that he married 50 women in 58 years, but that is not the most interesting part.
The most interesting part of his story is that he has never been with more than 4 wives at a time, as permitted by the Islamic religion.
He revealed that he had been with his first 3 wives between 18-40 years and would always divorce the last wife if the need to get married arose.
He said the first 3 were his favorites and although he loves getting married every year, he would never divorce them to bring in new women.
From his numerous marriages, he has 10 sons and 20 daughters but he revealed that he wasn’t sure of the number of daughters he had. He also did not know the names of the women he had married in the past.
Similarly, he made the revelation that he has spent over a million dollars in marriages and divorce settlements.
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12. Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith is the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was married to as many as 40 wives, including minors. His youngest wife was 14 years old at the time she was married to him. She was the daughter of his friend and was said to have been bound to him for eternity and their relationship did not involve sexual relations.
Joseph Smith claimed that the instruction to marry many wives came from an angel who threatened to destroy him unless he obeyed.
The church has since banned polygamy and now excommunicates anyone who practices it. However, they still believe in the concept of eternal marriages and a man can be eternally sealed to more than one woman after death.
