Susan Deixler became known because of her early marriage to Barry Manilow, one of America’s most successful singers. Their love story began in Brooklyn, long before Barry became a famous music star.
She was Barry Manilow’s high school sweetheart and his first wife. Their marriage lasted only a short time, but their relationship remains an interesting part of the singer’s early personal life.
Although Susan later chose a private lifestyle, many people remain curious about her. This article explores her childhood, education, marriage, family life, career, and what happened after her separation from Barry Manilow.
Who Is Susan Deixler?
Susan Deixler is an American woman best known as the former wife of singer Barry Manilow. She grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where she attended Eastern District High School and developed an interest in music.
During her teenage years, Susan was an active student who enjoyed different school activities. She participated in student government, singing, swimming, and other groups. Her friendly personality made her popular among her classmates and friends.
Her relationship with Barry Manilow began before he achieved success in the music industry. They married in 1964 but separated after about a year. Susan later created a quieter life focused on family and personal interests.
Susan Deixler’s Childhood and Family Background
Susan Deixler spent her early years in Brooklyn, New York. She was raised by her parents, Al Deixler and Nettie Deixler. Her childhood took place in a busy city filled with different cultures, communities, and opportunities.
Growing up in Brooklyn helped Susan develop a friendly and outgoing personality. She enjoyed meeting people and participating in activities. These qualities became especially noticeable during her teenage years at Eastern District High School.
Susan’s family played an important role in her early life. Her parents were involved in major family decisions, including her wedding arrangements. Their involvement later became part of the unusual story surrounding her marriage to Barry Manilow.
Education and School Activities
Susan Deixler attended Eastern District High School in Brooklyn. She was an energetic student who enjoyed learning and taking part in school events. Her interests extended beyond ordinary classroom lessons and academic work.
She participated in several school organizations, including the Chemistry Squad, Bowling Club, and school chorus. Susan also enjoyed swimming and served on the Orientation Committee. These activities allowed her to develop different interests and friendships.
One of her notable achievements was becoming student government president during her senior year. She also participated in the City and Boro Council. Her leadership responsibilities showed her confidence and willingness to contribute to school life.
Susan Deixler’s Personality During High School
Susan was remembered as a cheerful and sociable student. She enjoyed spending time with classmates and participating in group activities. Her outgoing nature helped her build friendships with people from different school circles.
Her personality was somewhat different from Barry Manilow’s during their younger years. Barry was generally quieter and more focused on music. Susan enjoyed a wider range of social activities and school responsibilities.
Despite these differences, the two developed a close relationship. Their shared interest in music helped bring them together. Susan’s positive personality and Barry’s musical ambitions became important parts of their teenage love story.
Susan Deixler’s Early Career Dreams
Before marriage, Susan Deixler had plans for her education and professional future. Her senior yearbook mentioned her interest in attending Miami University. She wanted to study nursing and explore opportunities in healthcare.
Nursing appealed to Susan because it offered a career centered on helping people. Her interest in health began while she was still young. This early ambition later connected with accounts of her involvement in wellness-related work.
Susan also enjoyed music and had taken piano lessons. Her musical knowledge helped her understand Barry’s growing passion for performing. Although their future careers followed different directions, music remained an important connection during their relationship.
How Did Susan Deixler Meet Barry Manilow?
Susan Deixler met Barry Manilow while they were students at Eastern District High School. Their relationship began in Brooklyn before Barry became internationally famous. At that time, both were ordinary young people planning their futures.
Susan was reportedly one school year behind Barry. Their friendship gradually developed into a romantic relationship. They spent time together during their teenage years and became increasingly serious about their future as a couple.
Their relationship continued as Barry pursued his interest in music. Susan understood his ambitions and encouraged his creative interests. Eventually, their young romance developed into plans for marriage, leading to their wedding in 1964.
Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow’s Love Story
Susan and Barry shared a relationship that began long before fame entered their lives. They knew each other as teenagers rather than as celebrities. Their connection developed through ordinary experiences, friendships, and shared interests.
Barry was already passionate about music and wanted to build a professional career. Susan had her own educational goals and interests. Despite their different ambitions, they believed their relationship was strong enough for marriage.
Their decision to marry reflected the seriousness of their young romance. However, married life introduced responsibilities that were different from dating. As Barry’s musical commitments increased, balancing his career ambitions with marriage became difficult.
Susan Deixler’s Wedding in 1964
Susan Deixler married Barry Manilow in 1964. Barry was around 21 years old, while Susan was approximately 20. Their wedding became memorable because of disagreements between their families about the arrangements.
Susan’s parents wanted a large wedding celebration. Barry’s mother, Edna Manilow, and his stepfather, Willie Murphy, had concerns about the expense. These different expectations created tension before the young couple could begin married life.
Rather than waiting for everyone to agree, Susan and Barry decided to elope. They visited City Hall during a lunch break and married in a judge’s chambers. However, their first ceremony did not end the wedding discussions.
Why Did Susan and Barry Have Multiple Wedding Ceremonies?
After the civil wedding, Susan’s parents wanted a religious ceremony. They preferred that a rabbi perform the marriage before the couple began living together. Susan and Barry agreed to another ceremony to satisfy the family.
The couple attended a religious ceremony in a rabbi’s office. Both sets of parents were present for this occasion. However, disagreements between the families continued when they began organizing separate wedding receptions.
Susan’s family arranged a celebration that included very few members of Barry’s family. Barry’s parents later organized their own reception without inviting Susan’s relatives. Another religious ceremony reportedly took place during that celebration.
Their wedding story became unusual because the couple exchanged vows more than once. What began as a simple decision to marry turned into several ceremonies and celebrations. These events reflected the different expectations of their families.
Why Did Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow Divorce?
Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow’s marriage ended after a relatively short period. They separated about a year after their 1964 wedding. Their relationship was later legally annulled in 1966.
Barry explained that he was too young to handle the responsibilities of marriage. He was spending much of his time performing and developing his music career. His professional ambitions made it difficult to maintain married life.
The singer also acknowledged that he loved Susan during their relationship. He described their marriage positively but admitted he was not ready to settle down. Their separation became an important turning point in both their lives.
Was Barry Manilow’s Sexuality the Reason for Their Separation?
Barry Manilow later spoke openly about his sexuality and his relationship with Garry Kief. This led to renewed public interest in his earlier marriage. However, Barry explained that his sexuality was not the reason he left Susan.
He maintained that he genuinely loved his first wife. According to his explanation, the main problem was his young age and dedication to music. He did not feel prepared for the responsibilities of being a husband.
Barry met Garry Kief in 1978, many years after separating from Susan. Their relationship developed into a long partnership, and they married in 2014. Susan’s marriage to Barry belonged to an earlier chapter of his life.
What Happened to Susan Deixler After the Marriage?
Following her separation from Barry Manilow, Susan Deixler moved away from public attention. She did not pursue a career in entertainment or use her former marriage to become famous. Instead, she concentrated on building her own life.
Her later years included family responsibilities and an interest in health-related work. Accounts of her life describe her involvement in nursing and holistic wellness. These interests reflected the healthcare ambitions she had developed during her school years.
While Barry became a successful recording artist, Susan followed a different path. She preferred a lifestyle away from interviews, television appearances, and celebrity events. Her decision helped her maintain privacy throughout much of her adult life.
Susan Deixler’s Career in Health and Wellness
Susan Deixler has been associated with nursing and holistic healing in accounts of her later life. Her interest in healthcare began during high school. She had considered studying nursing as part of her future career plans.
Holistic healing generally focuses on a person’s overall well-being. It considers physical health, lifestyle, emotional balance, and everyday habits. Susan’s reported involvement in this field suggests that her interest in helping others continued into adulthood.
Her professional life remained separate from Barry Manilow’s entertainment career. Rather than seeking recognition through music or television, she pursued personal interests connected with health and wellness. This became another difference between their adult lives.
Did Susan Deixler Have Children?
Susan Deixler later became a mother of two children, a son and a daughter. Motherhood became an important part of her life after her marriage to Barry Manilow ended. She kept her family away from celebrity attention.
Susan rarely discussed her children in public. Their names and personal lives have not been central to media coverage of her former marriage. This helped her family maintain a quieter lifestyle.
Her experience as a mother also shows how much her life changed after the 1960s. While Barry continued building his musical career, Susan developed her own family life. Her children became part of that new chapter.
Did Susan Deixler Ever Remarry?
Susan Deixler’s later romantic relationships have remained largely outside public discussion. After her marriage to Barry Manilow ended, she did not regularly speak about her personal relationships. Her private lifestyle continued for many decades.
Some biographical accounts describe Susan as having remained unmarried after her first marriage. However, she has not made her later relationship history a major subject of public interviews. Most attention has remained on her early connection with Barry.
What stands out is Susan’s decision to separate her personal identity from her former husband’s fame. She continued living independently and focused on her own priorities. Her marriage to Barry remained only one part of her story.
What Did Susan Deixler Say About Barry Manilow?
Susan Deixler attracted renewed attention in 2015 when news of Barry Manilow’s marriage to Garry Kief became public. People became interested in how his first wife felt about the singer’s later relationship.
Susan responded with kindness and wished Barry happiness. She described their former relationship as “ancient history,” making it clear that their marriage belonged to the distant past. She did not express anger about his later life.
Her comments also showed that she had moved forward. She explained that she was not a celebrity and had her own life. Rather than discussing old problems, she preferred to leave their marriage in the past.
Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow’s Lives Took Different Directions
After their separation, Barry Manilow continued working toward his dream of becoming a professional musician. He eventually achieved major success with songs such as “Mandy,” “Copacabana,” and “Can’t Smile Without You.”
His career brought international recognition, concerts, awards, and decades of public attention. Susan, meanwhile, remained outside the entertainment industry. Their lives developed in very different directions after their young marriage ended.
Although their relationship was brief, it remained part of Barry’s personal history. He continued discussing the marriage occasionally during interviews. Susan, on the other hand, preferred to focus on her present life rather than revisit the past.
Where Did Susan Deixler Live After Leaving Brooklyn?
Susan Deixler spent her younger years in Brooklyn, where she attended school and met Barry Manilow. Later accounts placed her in Point Reyes Station, California, a small community in Marin County.
Point Reyes Station offers a quieter environment than Brooklyn or the entertainment centers associated with Barry’s career. Its surroundings include natural landscapes and coastal areas. This setting was consistent with Susan’s preference for a more private lifestyle.
Her connection with California became part of accounts describing her life after marriage. She did not regularly appear at Hollywood events or public celebrations. Instead, her adult years were largely spent outside the celebrity world.
How Old Is Susan Deixler?
Susan Deixler is commonly described as having been born in August 1944. Based on that reported birth year, she would be approximately 82 years old in 2026. Her exact birthday is not widely discussed in her public story.
She was around 20 years old when she married Barry Manilow in 1964. Their relationship began even earlier, during their teenage school years. This explains why Barry later described himself as too young for marriage.
Susan has spent most of her life away from the entertainment spotlight. Public interest in her age mainly comes from curiosity about Barry Manilow’s early relationships. Her personal history, however, includes much more than that marriage.
Where Is Susan Deixler Now?
As of 2026, Susan Deixler continues to be known for her private lifestyle. She has not maintained a major public presence connected to Barry Manilow. Her later years have remained largely separate from entertainment news.
Earlier accounts associated her with Point Reyes Station, California, and work in holistic wellness. She has shared few personal updates about her daily activities. Her public comments about Barry have also been limited.
Susan’s decision to maintain privacy has shaped how people remember her. Although her name remains connected with a famous singer, she has not tried to build a celebrity career. She has followed her own path for decades.
Final Thoughts
Susan Deixler’s life began far from the celebrity attention that later surrounded Barry Manilow. She grew up in Brooklyn, became an active student, and developed interests in music, leadership, and healthcare.
Her young marriage to Barry was an important experience, but it did not define her entire future. After their separation, she focused on her own life, children, and health-related interests while maintaining her privacy.
Today, Susan is remembered as Barry Manilow’s first wife and high-school sweetheart. Her story also reflects personal growth, changing priorities, and the different directions two young people can take after their relationship ends.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Susan Deixler?
Susan Deixler is an American woman best known as Barry Manilow’s first wife. They were high-school sweethearts in Brooklyn and married in 1964 before his music career became successful.
Why did Barry Manilow leave Susan Deixler?
Barry Manilow explained that he was too young and focused on his music career. He loved Susan but felt unable to manage the responsibilities of marriage while pursuing his ambitions.
How long were Susan Deixler and Barry Manilow married?
Susan and Barry married in 1964 and separated after about a year. Their marriage was later annulled in 1966, bringing their relationship to a legal end.
Did Susan Deixler have children?
Susan Deixler later became a mother of two children, a son and a daughter. She has kept her family life private and away from the entertainment spotlight.
Where is Susan Deixler now in 2026?
Susan Deixler has maintained a quiet lifestyle away from celebrity attention. Earlier accounts placed her in Point Reyes Station, California, and associated her with health and holistic wellness work.
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