Dr. Phil’s wife says he was ‘rude’ and ‘unfriendly’ when they met — but still ‘love at first sight’

Kathleen PerriconeTue, August 11, 2026 at 8:31 PM UTC

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Robin and Phil McGraw at the Hollywood Museum in 2022Credit: Paul Archuleta/GettyKey Points -

Dr. Phil’s wife of 50 years, Robin McGraw, says when they first met he was “grumpy and rude.”

But still, it was “love at first sight” and the two went on their first date the next night.

“He was rough and gruff and not very friendly,” recalled Robin, “but I knew he was just a teddy bear.”

Dr. Phil McGraw’s meet-cute with his wife Robin was more of a meet-rude, if you ask her.

Ahead of the couple’s 50th anniversary on Aug. 14, they looked back at the night they first crossed paths in 1973, when Robin was supposed to go on a double date with the TV psychologist’s sister and her boyfriend. “But this pilot they’ve hooked me up with gets weathered in somewhere, so I don’t have the date,” Robin told Us Weekly.

The sister ended up going out with her boyfriend, leaving Robin behind at her house. “The last thing she said was, ‘Oh, but by the way, you have to be really quiet. My brother is in town and he’s been really sick.’ I said, ‘I didn’t even know you had a brother.’”

Robin met him moments later as she walked to the kitchen for a bottle of water, “and there sits this brother in the family room,” she recalled. “The TV is on and I walk through, and he goes, ‘Who are you?’ So we didn’t really start off on a real friendly note, but he said, ‘Would you like to sit down and watch this movie with me?’ I said yes and we’ve been together ever since.”

Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw with their sons, Jordan (center) and Jay, and Jay’s wife Erica DahmCredit: Gregg DeGuire/WireImage

Dr. Phil remembered the encounter differently, insisting to Us Weekly that he didn’t speak to Robin “quite that harshly.” She disagreed, recalling, “I actually asked him, ‘Are you always this grumpy and rude?’”

Still, she saw through his rough exterior — and agreed to go on a date with him the very next night.

“It was love at first sight for me. I knew right then I was going to marry this man,” Robin said. “He was rough and gruff and not very friendly, but I knew he was just a teddy bear. He was really sweet.”

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Five decades later, the couple also disagreed on what they talked about on their first date. According to Dr. Phil, as they walked past a church, Robin asked, “How do you feel about marriage?” But she insisted that conversation wasn’t until their third date.

“I needed to know how he felt about marriage,” Robin told Us Weekly, “because I didn’t want to waste my time or I needed to know how much work I had in front of me because I was going to marry this man.”

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That Valentine’s Day, the two got engaged. Six months later on Aug. 14, 1976, they made it official at the same church they had walked past on their first (or third date).

“We had a little reception where we had punch and cookies,” said Robin, who bought her $100 wedding gown on layaway for $5 a week. (The groom rented his white tuxedo.) “We couldn’t really afford a photographer, so we just had friends and family take the photos.”

Fifty years, two sons, and four grandchildren later, “apparently we made the right decision,” mused Dr. Phil.

on Entertainment Weekly

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”