Inside Keith Richards' Enduring Marriage with Patti Hansen

Fri Nov 24 2023
By   tashi

Keith Richards and Patti Hansen have been married for nearly five decades: Everything to know here!  

A singer, songwriter, record producer, and most notably, the principal guitarist of the iconic English band, The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards is one of the most enduring musical legends. Richards, 79, the brain and voice behind some of the most memorable hits, Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, along with his band members, consisting of Mick Jagger, and Ronnie Wood, recently teased a possible 2024 tour, sending fans into a frenzy. 

Born on December 18, 1943, in Dartford, Kent, Richards and his future bandmate, and lifelong friend, Jagger, were schoolmates at the Wentworth Primary School, in Dartford. The duo's-founded band, which later became a quintet, was named Blues Boys. Keith and his comrades performed throughout London in the early '60s and shot to a fast-soaring stardom when their cover of Chuck Berry's Come On hit the charts.  

Inside Keith Richards's Enduring Conjugal Life!  

Could Keith Richards and Patti Hansen as a couple be any more remarkable? The Rolling Stones guitarist and Hansen began their beautiful journey in the 70s and continue to share a love that's ever-lasting, and somewhat, rare in the industry.   

Keith Richards is best known as the guitarist of Rolling Stones.
Keith Richards and Patti Hansen have been married since 1983. Photo Source: Instagram

Keith's longtime wife, Patti Hansen, whom Richards describes as a "miracle" and "the most beautiful specimen" in his memoir, is a model, and actress. Patti has graced the covers of esteemed publications such as Harper Bazar, Esquire, Vogue, and more. Her acting credits include minor roles in Rich Kids, They All Laughed, and Hard to Hold.

The love tale of Keith Richards and Patti Hansen is a testament to true love. When the legendary Keith and the gorgeous model Patti came together in the late 70s, they bonded over music, love, and their unwavering support of one another's aspirations.   

When Keith's path crossed with Patti in 1979, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer had already experienced the romance of a lifetime and was a doting father of three, and yet, had the innards to fall in love with the gorgeous Hansen. "I didn't see her again for a while, but the vision stayed in my mind," the guitarist writes in his memoir as he recalls his love-at-first-sight moment with Patti.   

Keith Richards and Patti Hansen have been married since 1983. Photo Source: Instagram
Patti Hansen is a model and former actress. Photo Source: Instagram

A little over three years into their dating bliss, the couple walked down the aisle on December 18, 1983. Throughout their decades-long nuptial, Keith and Patti have welcomed two daughters, and Hansen, as the family's matriarch, also looks over her extended family, which includes Keith's three kids from his previous relationship.   

Every marriage has its own set of challenges, and Keith Richards and Hansen's relationship hasn't been exempt from them. Like any couple navigating life as celebrities, they've weathered some challenges, some, in the spotlight, and some, away from it.  

Some challenges that the long-married have managed to thwart, or bear with are Richards' obstinate usage of drugs, which has sent the guitarist to the door of death numerous times, and Patti's well-wrapped battle with bladder cancer. The model had to undergo chemo and complicated surgeries, which put a strain on her personal life. Both Keith and Hansen rarely talk about their marital life but the couple is considered Rock and Roll's strongest pair.   

Keith Richards' wife, Patti, is a model, and former actress.
Richards dated model Anita Pallenberg for over a decade. Photo Source: Instagram

In a rare interview, which Patti agreed to do to raise awareness of bladder cancer, and the stigma around it, the model recalls a time when her marriage was on a bump. "There was a three-year period there that was really difficult for us. It was like bang, bang, bang," Hansen admits while detailing her bout with cancer and Richards's horrific accident on the Fijian island.  

There are couples with similar attributes and connecting on shared hobbies, and then there is Keith, and Hansen, who as fans would reckon, have shown polar opposites miens. While the Rolling Stones star thrives on his notorious rebel persona, Patti's sublime personality ostensibly conceals her in the shadow of her blasting husband.  

Get to Know Keith Richards's Kids!   

Aside from being a legendary musician, a doting husband, and a rebellious authority, Keith is also a beloved father. The Rolling Stones fame has fathered five kids, his eldest three with model Anita Pallenberg, whom he throughout the 60s and late 70s, and remained cordial with until her death in June 2017. 

Richards' longtime partner and the mother of his three children, Anita Pallenberg, died in 2017! 

Richards might be known widely for his delirious addition and erratic public disposition, but when it comes to his family, the man is serious. Keith has always placed his family first, even in the whirlwind world of rock 'n' roll. His devotion to his kids is evident in both public and private settings, revealing a very loving and compassionate side of the rockstar.  

"I don't care how cool and hip and whatever you think you are. You get down the line, baby, what counts is family," the Let it Bleed crooner said. Keith's oldest, Marlon, 54, was born to him and Anita in August 1969. Marlon was Keith's first kid to experience his childhood in the swirl of his father's extensive touring.   

The eldest of Keith's brood now lives a quiet, peaceful life in a farmhouse, and reportedly works as a gallery curator, graphic artist, and photographer. Marlon has been married to model Lucie de la Falaise since 1994 and together, the couple has welcomed three kids. Keith's second-born, Dandelion, 51, is, again, the product of the special love that the rockstar shared with Pallenberg.   

Keith Richards dated model Anita Pallenberg for over a decade.
Keith and Patti are doting parents to four kids. Photo Source: Instagram

Dandelion has also inclined towards a low-key life and pretty much keeps it to herself. She has reportedly been married and divorced once and now, shares two kids with her longtime partner, Graham Whitney. Keith's youngest born with Pallanberg, Tara, tragically died away two months after birth.  

The guitarist was away on a tour in Paris when the tragedy befell his family. "Leaving a newborn is something I can't forgive myself for. It's as if I deserted my post," the Sticky Fingers wrote in his memoir. Although Richards's children from his relationship with Anita are very much a part of his family with Patti, the English hitmaker and his wife have two daughters of their own.    

Keith Richards is a doting father of five.
Keith's youngest daughters, Theodora and Alexandra, are models. Photo Source: Instagram

Richards and Hansen's older daughter, Theodora, 38, born to them in March 1985, is a model, and so is her younger sister, Alexandra, 37. Both Theodora and Alexandra have been relatively more forthcoming than their elder step-siblings. "I'm really super blessed," Theodora once said, adding, "My parents, they stayed together, and I love their love."  

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