Frank Sinatra married four times over the course of his life. His marriage to final wife Barbara seems from the outside to have been the most successful of them all. Frank’s marriage to Barbara was his longest, and he died with her by his side. However, Frank’s children, all of whom came from the crooner’s first marriage, never liked Barbara. In fact, one of them even blames Barbara for their father’s death! Join Facts Verse as we explore how Frank Sinatra’s daughter feels his final wife was responsible for his death.
Nancy Sinatra Jr. Feels Her Father Could’ve Lived Longer
When Frank Sinatra died, he was 83 years old. Given that the beloved singer drank and smoked heavily throughout his life. Most of his fans assumed that the legendary crooner had lived about as long and fulfilling of a life as he could have. However, there’s one figure that feels that Frank could’ve gone on for a few more years if it wasn’t for the fact that he stuck in a negative domestic situation. That figure is Nancy Sinatra Jr., who is one of Frank’s three kids.
Frank Sinatra was a notorious womanizer that slept with innumerable women over the course of his life, though he only married four. However, as Nancy Jr. likes to put it, fourth wife Barbara liked to pretend that she’s the only one that Frank was ever married to. This certainly rubbed Frank’s children the wrong way, as all three of them came from the crooner’s first marriage. Nancy Jr. has claimed since her father’s death that she felt like Barbara was trying to erase her, her siblings, and her mother from Frank’s past.
Frank Sinatra’s first wife was a woman by the name of Nancy Barbato. And he married her before becoming a star. Frank and Nancy married from 1939 to 1951, meaning that Frank’s first marriage lasted a good deal longer than both his second and third marriages combined. Those marriages would be to actresses Ava Gardner and Mia Farrow, respectfully. Frank’s marriage to Ava Gardner incredibly tumultuous and lasted from 1951 to 1957, with the two stars being drunk the majority of the time. Around a decade later, Frank married to Mia Farrow for a period of a little over a year, which started in 1966.
Frank’s Last Marriage Was His Longest
While Frank Sinatra’s marriage to his first wife lasted a good deal longer than his second and third marriage. The crooner’s marriage to fourth and final wife Barbara was the longest of them all. It was also seemingly the most successful. Though recent remarks from the late singer’s children suggest that things not quite so peaceful within the Sinatra home towards the end of Frank’s life. Frank’s marriage to Nancy started out before the crooner became famous. And Nancy didn’t exactly like the changes she saw happening in her husband when he started getting attention as a singer. Frank started partying excessively and cheating on Barbara with other women, including Ava Gardner.
Frank Sinatra’s affair with Ava Gardner is said to have what finally put an end to the crooner’s first marriage. The singer then went on to marry Ava the same year of his first divorce. Though Frank and Ava seem to have been relatively miserable throughout the entirety of their union. Sinatra had three children with his first wife Barbara during their marriage. And he never had any more kids after that.
Frank and Barbara Met Years Before Their Marriage
His kids had watched their father stumble drunkenly through his marriages to Mia Farrow and Ava Gardner, and they didn’t think much of it. However, things seemed quite a bit different when Barbara came around. Frank and Barbara had first met in 1957. When Frank was just getting over his relationship with second wife Ava Gardner. At this point, Frank was partying harder than ever. And it was in a drunken Las Vegas stupor that the singer first beckoned to Barbara.
Apparently, Frank was hanging out with his fellow Rat Pack members Sammy Davis Jr. and Dean Martin when he noticed a beautiful blonde showgirl across the bar. That blonde showgirl was Barbara, and a drunken Frank Sinatra proceeded to catcall her. Barbara ignored him, even after her friend explained to her that the drunken, catcalling man was Frank Sinatra. According to the late Barbara, she wasn’t in the mood to deal with drunks.
Frank’s first attempts to woo Barbara seem to have failed miserably. And the showgirl would later end up married to classic comedic actor Zeppo Marx. Zeppo and Barbara then ended up moving into the same California neighborhood as Frank Sinatra. After which point Frank and Barbara struck up a friendship. Of course, this friendship would later turn into a romance. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support!
Frank and Barbara Ended Up Becoming More Than Friends
Some time after Frank Sinatra’s marriage to Mia Farrow ended in 1968, Frank and Barbara became more than friends. At the time, Barbara still married to Zeppo Marx. The fact that Barbara willing to cheat on Zeppo arguably should’ve seen by Frank as a red flag. Though Frank and Barbara’s marriage still ended up as the longest of the four that the crooner involved in over his lifetime.
Barbara’s affair with Frank caused her and Zeppo’s marriage to dissolve, and the pair officially divorced in 1973. By that point, Frank and Barbara had already begun to take things to the next level in their relationship. Barbara could be seen accompanying Frank all over the world for his performances. And it seems like the two match made in heaven. Barbara could drink almost as much as Frank could, and she even smoked just as much as him! However, the crooner’s late fourth wife would go on to claim that Frank insisted she quit smoking soon after they got married.
Legend has it that Frank Sinatra proposed to his fourth and final wife by placing a beautiful, diamond engagement ring in a glass of champagne. Of course, Barbara said yes, and the pair would go on to tie the knot officially in 1976. Shortly before the wedding ceremony went down, Barbara claims that she handed a prenuptial agreement to sign. As the woman seemingly had no ulterior motives in the marriage, she signed the agreement without thinking.
Barbara Asked Frank to Annul His First Marriage
One thing that made Frank Sinatra’s fourth marriage different than his second and third is that it officiated with a Catholic ceremony. This meant that Frank’s marriage to first wife Nancy had to retroactively annulled. For those that don’t know, annulment differs from divorce and makes it so that an entire marriage is considered void from the beginning. This is typically done for religious purposes, as the case with Frank and Nancy. While Frank and Nancy had divorced for over two decades by that point. The annulment still said to have hurt the woman.
In addition to hurting Nancy, Frank’s demand for the annulment also rubbed Nancy Jr. the wrong way. According to Nancy Jr., she felt that the annulment one of Barbara’s attempts to try and erase Frank’s past so that she could considered the only true wife that the crooner had over the course of his lifetime. Nancy Jr. also claimed that another such attempt to overwrite the singer’s past came when Barbara tried to convince Frank to adopt her adult son. Nancy Jr. ended up talking her father out of adopting the son. Who was well into his adulthood at the time. Of course, it’s atypical for adults to officially adopted. And it’s understandable that Nancy Jr. questioned Barbara’s motive.
If we’re giving Barbara the benefit of the doubt. She likely only cared about such things as divorce and adoption because she felt that they were the proper things to do. However, it’s still certainly understandable that Nancy Jr. should’ve had some negative feelings about seeing her father start a new family with a new woman. For all intents and purposes, Frank’s second and third marriages had extended love affairs. With Barbara, Frank finally found a replacement for Nancy Barbato, and his kids noticed.
Nancy Jr. Blames Barbara for Her Father’s Death
Nancy Jr. has taken her criticism of her father’s fourth and final wife so far that she has even come to blame Barbara for her father’s death. According to Nancy Jr., her father would’ve lived longer if it hadn’t been for the fact that he forced to live with such a cruel woman. Some examples that Nancy Jr. points to when she is asked to illustrate her late stepmother’s cruelty. It is include the fact that Barbara refused to personally call her when her father was on his deathbed.
According to Nancy Jr., she had to learn about the fact that her father was just about to die from the doctor. This is because Barbara refused to contact her. This certainly seems cruel, but one also has to consider the fact that Barbara likely and rightfully thought that Nancy Jr. hated her. After this incident, Nancy Jr. vowed to never speak another word to her stepmother again. And she made good on her promise. Barbara ended up passing away herself in 2017, nearly two decades after Frank’s 1998 death. Over those years, Nancy Jr. claims that she never spoke to her late stepmother a single time.
After Barbara’s passing, she was buried alongside her late husband. However, Nancy Jr. seemingly ended up getting the last laugh. Upon Frank’s death, Barbara had his gravesite marked with a stone that referred to Frank as a beloved husband and father. Sometime after Barbara’s passing, this gravestone was replaced with a new one that read “Sleep Warm, Poppa”. Of course, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that this change was made by one of Frank’s children. And that whichever of the kids made the change didn’t feel that the fact about their father. Being a beloved husband was all that important in the long run. Although Frank’s fourth and final marriage seems from the outset to have been the crooner’s most successful. Nancy Sinatra Jr. claims that it was anything but.
Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Frank Sinatra stole comedic actor Zeppo Marx’s wife. And that Frank’s kids blame the woman in question for their father’s death? As always, like this video to show your support. And subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way.
