Danny Trejo may be a tough guy with a heart of gold, but off-screen, the Desperado actor has weathered his fair share of heartbreak. The Hollywood icon, who famously got sober after several prison stints in his early adulthood, has been married four times and has fathered three children with his former partners.
Danny has been open about his divorces in the past and how his substance abuse issues led to the demise of many of his relationships. "I've tried to make amends with the women I've been involved with simply because it wasn’t their fault, I was broken," he told USA Today, adding that his daughter, Danielle, helped him heal.
© Getty Images for AARP"My daughter taught me more about how to deal with women than anybody in my life." He shares Danielle and his son, Gilbert, with his former partner, Maeve Crommie. He is also a father to Danny, whom he welcomed with another former partner, Diana Walton.
As Danny returns to our TV screens in Mysteries Unearthed with Danny Trejo, we look back at the women who shaped his life.
Laura
Danny married his first wife, Laura, in 1962, following his release from juvenile detention. Laura was reportedly the sister of his close friend, and her parents strongly disapproved of their relationship. The couple tied the knot in a small ceremony.
Their marriage ended in 1965 when she filed for divorce while he was confined at Youth Training School. At the time, Danny was battling with substance abuse, and cited this as one of the reasons for their split.
© Ron Galella Collection via GettyDebbie Schipek
The actor was married to cartoonist Debbie Schipek from 1971 to 1975. While not much is known about their relationship, Danny did write in his 2021 memoir, Trejo: My Life of Crime, Redemption and Hollywood, that he was "jealous and a cheater", a possible reason for the end of their marriage.
© WireImageJoanne Discuillo
Danny met his third wife, Joanne, at a treatment center in California, and the couple married in 1975. They split three years later, and Danny did not welcome any kids with her.
© Getty ImagesDiana Walton
The California native welcomed a son, Danny, in 1981 with his girlfriend, Diana Walton. The couple were together for several years until they separated, and Danny remained in his son's life.
Maeve Crommie
Danny and his ex-girlfriend, Maeve, were together for 10 years before their split, and welcomed kids Gilbert and Danielle together. The star is still incredibly close to Maeve, who remarried and welcomed two more sons, Sam and Theo, with her former husband.
After her divorce, Danny stepped in to help raise her two kids and remained good friends with Maeve.
"My kids' mom, we split up 37 years ago," he explained to Screen Rant in 2021. "She remarried, had two kids, both [who are autistic], and then her husband left when they were about four or five or something because he couldn't [handle it]."
"So my son was trying to help his mom, and couldn't, so we just took over. I helped raise those kids. Not mainly because of her, but because that's my son's brother."
Danny later shared on the First Class Fatherhood show that his kids had a "smart mom", and that he would have "never forsaken my kids no matter what I felt or whatever with their mom. They always know; they have to know that their dad's there, no matter what."
Danny even teamed up with the Property Brothers, Drew and Jonathan Scott, on Celebrity IOU to help transform Maeve's garage into an autism-friendly space. "We absolutely know that we're family," Maeve shared. "We've always known that love is there, no matter what."
© Getty ImagesDebbie Shreve
Danny's longest marriage was to Debbie Shreve, whom he wed in 1997. He even got a tattoo on his chest for Debbie, and a matching one beside it for his daughter, Danielle.
She acted in several films, like 2006's Vengeance, 2006's High Hopes and 2005's Tennis, Anyone…?, and now reportedly works as a real estate agent. They divorced in 2017, and Danny has not remarried since.
