Elon Musk is basically the main character of the internet. Whether he's launching rockets, rebranding social media platforms, or tweeting something that makes the stock market lose its mind, he is always "on." But when it comes to his personal life, things get a little... complicated. People are constantly searching for exactly how many wife Elon Musk have, and honestly, the answer depends on whether you're counting the number of weddings or the number of women.
If you want the short version: he’s been married three times.
Wait. Actually, he’s been married to two different women, but he walked down the aisle three times. If that sounds like a riddle, welcome to the world of Elon. He’s a guy who does nothing halfway, and that includes legal separations.
The "Starter Wife" Era: Justine Wilson
Before there were Teslas in every driveway, there was Justine Wilson. She’s a Canadian novelist who met Elon back when they were both students at Queen’s University in Ontario.
It wasn't exactly a fairytale at first. He was a persistent guy—once tracking her down at a study center to offer her ice cream after she’d already stood him up. That kind of intensity defined their relationship. They got married in 2000, just as Elon was becoming a "dot-com" millionaire.
They had a big life. But it was also heavy with tragedy. Their first son, Nevada Alexander, passed away at just 10 weeks old from SIDS. It’s the kind of thing that changes a person forever. Afterward, they used IVF to grow their family, eventually having twins (Griffin and Vivian) and then triplets (Kai, Saxon, and Damian).
By 2008, the marriage was toast.
Justine famously wrote an essay for Marie Claire titled "I Was a Starter Wife." It wasn't pretty. She described a relationship where Elon was the "alpha" and she was becoming a "trophy wife" she didn't want to be. When they split, it was a messy, public divorce that set the tone for how the world views Elon's private life.
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The Actress He Married Twice: Talulah Riley
Most people get stuck on this part of the trivia. How many wife Elon Musk have? Well, he had Talulah Riley. Twice.
Talulah is a British actress (you might know her from Pride & Prejudice or Westworld). They met at a bar in London in 2008, literally weeks after he filed for divorce from Justine. It was a whirlwind. Within ten days, they were engaged.
They married in 2010.
They divorced in 2012.
Then, because life is weird, they remarried in 2013.
Finally, they divorced for good in 2016.
Talulah has since said that marrying and divorcing the same man twice felt "silly" but right at the time. Unlike the split with Justine, this one was actually pretty amicable. They’re still friends. She even congratulated him on some of his big SpaceX milestones. It’s probably the most "normal" breakup in his history, even if the double-marriage part is a bit of a head-scratcher.
The "Partners" Who Weren't Wives
Here is where the SEO results and reality start to clash. If you’re looking for "Elon Musk wives," you’re going to see names like Grimes and Shivon Zilis.
But he never married them.
The Grimes Saga
Elon and the Canadian musician Grimes (Claire Boucher) were the ultimate "weird" power couple. They debuted at the Met Gala in 2018 because they both made the same obscure joke about Roccoco Basilisk on Twitter. Nerdy love, right?
They were together on and off for years and have three children:
- X Æ A-Xii (The one everyone spent a week trying to pronounce).
- Exa Dark Sideræl (Born via surrogate).
- Techno Mechanicus (Nicknamed "Tau").
They called their relationship "fluid." In 2026, we know they’ve spent a lot of time in court over custody battles, which is a far cry from the days of them posting elven-themed photoshoots.
Shivon Zilis and the Growing Family
Then there’s Shivon Zilis. She’s a top executive at Neuralink. She and Elon have four children together, including twins Strider and Azure, a daughter named Arcadia, and a son named Seldon Lycurgus.
Again, no wedding bells here. Elon has been very vocal lately about the "underpopulation crisis." He basically views having many children as a civic duty. Whether you agree with that or not, it explains why his family tree looks more like a forest these days.
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The Most Recent Additions
As of 2026, the list has expanded even further. Conservative influencer Ashley St. Clair recently made headlines claiming she welcomed a son, Romulus, with the billionaire. This brings the count to 14 children with four different women.
It’s a lot to keep track of.
So, What’s the Final Count?
To be crystal clear for anyone trying to win a bar bet:
- Total Wives: 2 (Justine Wilson and Talulah Riley).
- Total Marriages: 3 (Because he married Talulah twice).
- Current Marital Status: Single.
Elon hasn't been legally married since 2016. While he’s had very long-term, committed partnerships that produced several children, he hasn't signed a marriage license in a decade.
What We Can Learn From the Musk Method
Look, most of us aren't trying to manage three companies and 14 kids at the same time. But Elon’s relationship history shows a few things about how he operates. He moves fast. He doesn't like being alone—he’s admitted in interviews that he hates sleeping in an empty house. And he clearly values "legacy" in the form of children more than the traditional structure of a 50-year marriage.
If you're following his life for the drama, there will probably be more. But for now, the "wife" count stays at two.
Actionable Insight: If you're researching high-net-worth individuals for business or personal interest, remember that "partner" and "wife" are legally distinct. In the world of tech billionaires, the family structure is often "non-traditional," focused more on co-parenting and legal agreements than white veils and church aisles. Check court records or official biographies like Walter Isaacson’s for the most accurate updates on these evolving family trees.