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Look Back at Heather and Terry Dubrow's 27-Year Relationship
The Real Housewives of Orange County couple has been open about the ups and downs of their marriage.
Heather Dubrow’s love for her husband, Terry Dubrow, is undeniable. The Real Housewives of Orange County cast member has been married for 24 years, and she and her husband share four kids — twins Max and Nick, Kat, and Ace — together. Over the years, the couple has learned quite a few things about keeping a marriage strong.
"Must have date night. Must learn to fight well," Heather once said about maintaining a strong relationship.
For Terry, the secret sauce includes shared projects. "Find a way to work together if you can, even if it's just a hobby,” he said in 2016. “This will keep you happy, this will keep you together, and this will keep you excited and interested."
Still, Heather and Terry’s relationship hasn’t been without its ups and downs as they dealt with parenting challenges, business endeavors, and the stresses of home construction and moving over the years.
Here’s what to know about Heather and Terry’s relationship.
How did Heather and Terry Dubrow meet?
Then-Heather Kent and Terry Dubrow met on a blind date in late1996, according to a 2023 Instagram post by Heather.
"Although we didn’t know it at the time, it was the day that changed our trajectory," she wrote in honor of the 27th anniversary of the weekend.
She was 27 years-old and had asked a surgeon friend if he knew any Jewish doctors to whom he could introduce her. Shortly thereafter, Heather found herself on a date with Terry. Sparks didn’t fly initially.
RELATED: Heather and Terry Dubrow Return to the Scene of Their Very First Date
"He wasn't really my type, but you know, I was like, 'We'll see,'" Heather recalled in 2015 on her podcast, Heather Dubrow's World. Heather described the then-37-year-old Terry as having "dark hair, didn't dress well, you know, needed help as most men do." She also thought he came off as condescending, and she didn't like that he drove a flashy Porsche.
"On the phone, I was, like, in love," Heather said. "But then we'd hang out and I'd go, 'Yeah, I don't know.'"
However, when Heather saw Dr. Dubrow at work at his plastic surgery practice in Newport Beach, it was another story. "To me the sexiest thing in the whole world is seeing someone in their element, you know, seeing him in like scrubs and there's needles flying, and he's walking around, and he's in command of the place," Heather explained. "It was a turn-on. It was sexy as hell."
Shortly there after, Terry invited Heather to join him on a weekend getaway to San Francisco and Napa Valley. "From the moment I saw him at the airport, it was over. I knew I was gonna marry him," Heather recalled. "It was like we were a married couple. It's like, we saw each other, smiled, gave each other a kiss, and it was magical, and it was done."
When did Heather and Terry Dubrow get married?
In June 1999 — less than three years after their first date — Heather and Terry tied the knot. On their 20th anniversary in June 2019, Heather shared a video from their wedding day in which she offers a hilarious message for her future kids.
RELATED: Throwback! Check out Heather and Terry Dubrow's Message for Their Future Kids from Their Wedding
"In some ways it feels so new and yet I can't remember my life before you,” Heather wrote in the caption alongside the Instagram post. “Terry, you are the love of my life, my best friend, my partner in crime, my mentor, my everything. Even though at times you can be a huge pain in the ass, narcissist — who watches himself on TV obsessively .... I wouldn't trade you for anything or anyone on the planet.” She added the hashtag blind dates work.
Heather and Terry Dubrow wrote a book together
In 2016, Heather and Terry published a book together called Dr. and Mrs. Guinea Pig Present the Only Guide You'll Need to the Best Anti-Aging Treatments.
The book shared couple's advice and expert knowledge on all things beauty as they tested the biggest beauty myths.
"We've done every kind of non-invasive plastic surgery rejuvenation you can possibly try," Terry explained to Entertainment Tonight ahead of the release. "Basically, we're giving everyone who's interested in looking their best and feeling their best all the best beauty secrets you can find anywhere on the planet, that work. And we're telling you the ones that are very popular that actually don't work."
Heather Dubrow struggled with Terry Dubrow’s lack of work-life balance
Working as a plastic surgeon and co-starring in his own reality TV show, Botched, Terry has had a lot to juggle on a day-to-day basis — and Heather has been open about that being hard for her.
The situation was documented on RHOC, and Heather spoke with The Daily Dish about what it was like to watch it back once it aired.
"Watching Terry struggle with our family dynamic is — you know, I lived it so I saw it there, but then watching it on television... it reminds me how far he's coming now and, you know, part of it makes me sad," she said in a 2016 interview.
“For Terry, going from just a super-busy plastic surgery practice to a super-busy plastic surgery practice plus television shows — and we have a book coming out, and our Consult Beaute skincare line — we have a lot going on. He really does struggle this year about that balance, and usually we talk about that with women but this year it's really Terry's issue."
In April 2019, Heather shared more about fighting with Terry during her third season on the show. "I think it was on our third season, we were fighting. I mean, we were just fighting a lot and it wasn’t like us," she said in an interview with Entertainment Tonight. "I regret things that I said. I regret things that I did, but isn’t that just true of life in general? I think it’s what you take away from it in how you do better in your life, if you become a better person and learn from it and I feel I’ve been doing that or been trying to do my best to become a more self-actualized person and learn from those missteps and those mistakes that we all make.”
The Dubrow Chateau, the L.A. penthouse, and the "Dubrow Dream House"
Heather and Terry first built their dream home in Newport Beach, which they dubbed Dubrow Chateau. It was completed around 2015.
Heather and Terry’s relationship went through a big shift in late 2022, when they sold their iconic Newport Beach mansion, Dubrow Chateau, for a record-breaking $55 million and downsized to a Los Angeles apartment as their kids headed off to college.
In October 2022, Heather spoke about the changes at BravoCon. "I'm in a very transitional stage in my family's life with two kids off to college and the third not that far behind — and then the fourth not that far behind that," she said of their children. "Terry and I have been having lots of conversations about what's happening next with us."
She continued: "What I would say is, just like when you first get married and you're having those conversations about where you're gonna go, what you're gonna do with your lives, we're kind of having like a second moment of that. Like, 'Oh my god, they're almost gone. What are we gonna do? Where are we gonna go?' And so we got this apartment as kind of our little pied-à-terre in B-H to see where we're going next."
Heather announced via Instagram on July 24, 2023 that the couple had purchased what she dubbed the “Dubrow Dream House.” She later confirmed to ET that the couple had closed on a Beverly Hills estate that once belonged to legendary producer Dino De Laurentiis (who died in 2010) and his wife, equally legendary producer Martha De Laurentiis (née Schumacher), who passed away in December 2021.
The house, which was built in the 1940s, was originally listed for $37.5 million in March 2022, according to Dirt, but the Dubrows closed on it for $16.1 million — again with the help of Million Dollar Listing: Los Angeles’ Josh Altman, who helped the couple sell the Dubrow Chateau just last year.
Heather and Terry Dubrow's kids started college
As their children grow up, it means changes for the home. In RHOC Season 17 Episode 4, which aired in June 2023, Heather spoke about coping with her twins moving out to go to college. “I can’t believe Max and Nicky are off to college,” she said in an interview. “I’m going to miss them terribly and not seeing them every day. They’re more than our two oldest kids, they’re really treasured friends.”
Terry summed it up like this: “This is the beginning of the end of our lives, in a way.”
“I think that’s part of the reason I want to go back to L.A.,” Heather told Terry in the episode. “I don’t want to live the same life but without them. It’s time to start the next phase, right?”
The Dubrows often share sweet anniversary messages
Heather and Terry are not ones to forget their wedding anniversary. On their special day, the couple will post sweet messages for each other on social media, and they make sure to enjoy time together in person.
For their 18th wedding anniversary in June 2017, Heather shared on Instagram: “I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow.” She also posted several snaps of their anniversary weekend plans, which included a hike, some pool time, and tequila.
In June 2021, Terry publicly declared his love for his wife in an Instagram post celebrating their 22nd wedding anniversary. “22 years ago she said ‘I do.’ Am I the luckiest guy on the planet? (Answer: yes!) I love you,” he wrote.
In December 2023, they celebrated the 27th anniversary of their first date with a weekend in Cabo San Lucas, and Heather commemorated it with a series of inspirational quotes about soulmates and long-term relationships.
Originally published Jul 16, 2023.
