Melissa Rivers Husband Stories: From John Endicott To Steve Mitchel
When people search “Melissa Rivers husband”, they’re usually trying to sort out two very different chapters of the same life: the fairy-tale Plaza Hotel wedding that didn’t last, and the later-in-life love story that quietly turned into a second marriage. For someone raised in the spotlight as Joan Rivers’ only child, Melissa’s path through love, divorce, single motherhood, and finally remarriage is surprisingly relatable under all the celebrity gloss.
Who Melissa Rivers Is Beyond The Last Name
Melissa Rivers was born in 1968 to comedy icon Joan Rivers and producer Edgar Rosenberg, and she grew up around cameras, punchlines, and red carpets. Over time she built her own career as a television host, producer, and author, co-hosting countless red-carpet specials and serving as executive producer and co-host of Fashion Police.
She also starred with her mother in the reality series Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?, showing the more human, sometimes messy side of their famously close relationship. Because viewers watched her grow up and then work side by side with Joan, curiosity about her private life—especially the men she’s chosen to marry—has never really gone away.
The First Husband: John Endicott And The $3 Million Wedding
The first answer to “Melissa Rivers husband” is John Endicott, a horse trainer she married in December 1998. Their wedding was the kind of over-the-top event only Joan Rivers could dream up: an estimated $3 million celebration at The Plaza Hotel in New York City, decked out like a winter wonderland with birch trees, thousands of white flowers, and a ballroom straight out of a movie.
It was glamorous, heavily covered by the press, and very on-brand for the Rivers family. But underneath all the glitter, there were just two people trying to start a normal married life. John kept working with horses and staying out of the spotlight while Melissa juggled television work and the built-in expectations that came with being Joan Rivers’ daughter.
Married Life And The Birth Of Cooper
After the Plaza wedding faded from the tabloids, Melissa and John settled into marriage between New York and Los Angeles. In 2000, they welcomed their son, Edgar “Cooper” Endicott, named in part for Melissa’s late father, Edgar Rosenberg.
Motherhood quickly became a defining part of her life. Even while she continued working in entertainment, Melissa has often said that being Cooper’s mom is the role she’s proudest of. When he was younger, he occasionally appeared on Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best?, giving viewers a peek at three generations under one very outspoken roof.
For a few years, it looked like Melissa had the picture-perfect package: a big career, a famous mother, a devoted husband, and a baby boy. But real life is rarely as tidy as it appears in a glossy wedding spread.
Divorce And A New Normal
In 2003, after about five years of marriage, Melissa Rivers and John Endicott divorced. There was no scorched-earth media tour or messy public feud. Both kept the reasons relatively private, with reporting at the time pointing to growing apart and the strain that comes with living such different lives.
What Melissa did talk about was Cooper. She focused on building a stable environment for him, doing the work of co-parenting, and figuring out who she wanted to be as a single mother in an industry that is not exactly famous for emotional stability. Over the years, she’s said that watching Cooper grow up into a grounded young man is one of the clearest signs she did something right.
So for a long time, “Melissa Rivers husband” actually referred to someone she used to be married to—not someone currently in her life.
Serious Relationships, But No Husband (For A While)
After her divorce, Melissa didn’t rush into another marriage. She did, however, have serious relationships that unfolded partly in public view.
In 2008, she began dating sports coach Jason Zimmerman. He appeared on Joan & Melissa: Joan Knows Best? and was around long enough for fans to start wondering if he might be the next husband. The relationship ended in 2011, and Melissa confirmed the breakup without drama or blame.
Later, she was in a long-term relationship with talent agent Mark Rousso, beginning around 2015. They were together for several years, often photographed at events and vacations, but they never married.
Through all of this, one thing stayed constant: legally, Melissa remained single. So for more than two decades after her divorce, typing “Melissa Rivers husband” would get you a story that had ended in 2003.
Meeting Steve Mitchel At A Very Vulnerable Time
The second chapter of the “Melissa Rivers husband” story begins in a quieter, more unexpected way. In 2022, Melissa met Steve Mitchel, a Los Angeles–based attorney, at an event for Didi Hirsch Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, where she serves as co-chairman of the board.
That setting says a lot. Melissa has lived through serious trauma: her father’s suicide when she was a teenager, her mother’s sudden death in 2014, and more recently, the loss of her home and nearly all her possessions in the 2025 Palisades Fire. She has been involved with Didi Hirsch for years because she understands firsthand what it means to rebuild after loss.
Steve walked into her life during a chapter when she’d already survived more than most. She has described him as supportive, steady, and a partner who showed up for the hard parts, not just the fun ones. By October 2023, they were engaged.
This wasn’t the head-spinning, camera-ready engagement of a 20-something. It was the decision of someone in her mid-50s who knows exactly what marriage takes—and still chose it again.
A Jackson Hole Wedding After The Fire
On March 15, 2025, Melissa Rivers married Steve Mitchel at the Four Seasons Resort and Residences Jackson Hole in Wyoming.
Just weeks earlier, she had lost her Pacific Palisades home in a wildfire that left her with almost nothing but memories and a handful of sentimental items she managed to save, including Joan’s Emmy and some family photos. It would have been understandable to postpone the wedding, but friends urged her to go through with it, and she later described the ceremony as a much-needed moment of joy and healing.
The wedding was wintery and intimate: skiing with friends, cozy gatherings, and a ceremony that leaned more into heart than spectacle. Even so, Melissa found a way to bring her mother with her. She wore one of Joan’s rings and used one of her pins in her hair. Guests were given golden bee pins to wear—a nod to Joan’s favorite quote about bees doing the impossible: scientifically they shouldn’t be able to fly, but they don’t know that, so they do.
This time, the wedding wasn’t about impressing the world. It was about starting a new chapter with someone who had already stood with her in some of the darkest moments of her life.
Featured Image Source: nbc.com
