Chevy Chase is basically the king of the 1980s comedy mountain, but long before Caddyshack or the Griswold family vacations, there was a completely different chapter of his life that most fans have totally forgotten. We're talking about the early 1970s. It was a time of rock bands, New York City grit, and a young woman named Susan Hewitt.
Most people think of Jayni Chase when they picture Chevy’s wife. After all, they’ve been married for over 40 years. But Susan Hewitt was the one who was there at the very start of his rise to fame—and honestly, their story is a lot more intense than the sitcom-style romance people might expect. It wasn't just a "starter marriage." It was a relationship born out of a rock concert, a secret pregnancy, and a quick exit that left the future comedy legend reeling.
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Who Was Susan Hewitt?
If you’re looking for a Hollywood starlet, you won't find her here. Susan Hewitt (sometimes referred to as Suzanne Hewitt) wasn't an actress or a model when she met Cornelius Crane Chase. She was just 19 years old. Chevy, meanwhile, was 25 and trying to find his footing in the music scene.
At the time, Chevy wasn't the "Weekend Update" anchor yet. He was playing drums and keyboards for a band called Chameleon Church. They met at a rock concert. It sounds like a classic 70s setup, right? But the reality was a bit heavier. According to Chevy’s biography, I’m Chevy Chase... and You’re Not, the marriage only happened because of a specific ultimatum.
Susan had become pregnant. She told Chevy she would terminate the pregnancy, but only on the condition that he marry her. He agreed. On February 23, 1973, they tied the knot in New York City.
The Chaos of the Early 1970s
Life with Susan Hewitt and Chevy Chase wasn't exactly a white-picket-fence dream. They lived in a New York that was loud, messy, and on the verge of a cultural explosion. Chevy was working on The National Lampoon Radio Hour and The National Lampoon Show, rubbing shoulders with future legends like John Belushi and Gilda Radner.
While his career was starting to simmer, his personal life was boiling over. Friends from that era describe the relationship as volatile. There’s a specific kind of pressure that comes with marrying young under those circumstances, and by all accounts, they weren't a great match.
The marriage lasted just about three years. By early 1976—the very year Chevy became a household name on Saturday Night Live—it was over. The divorce was finalized on February 1, 1976.
Why Did They Split?
Chevy hasn't been shy about why things ended, though his perspective is obviously one-sided. He told biographer Rena Fruchter that Susan essentially just left. According to him, she had an affair and moved on while he was still trying to navigate his new-found celebrity.
"She had an affair and simply left," Chase remarked. "That was the end of that."
It’s a blunt way to describe the end of a first marriage, but Chevy has never been known for being particularly soft-spoken. By the time the ink was dry on their divorce papers, he was already moving on to his second wife, Jacqueline Carlin.
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The Lasting Impact on Chevy’s Life
You might think a three-year marriage in your 20s wouldn't leave much of a mark. But if you look at Chevy's history, the breakdown of his relationship with Susan Hewitt seemed to set a pattern for his rocky personal life in the late 70s.
- He jumped into a marriage with Jacqueline Carlin just months after his divorce from Susan.
- That second marriage also ended in a messy divorce (and even a legendary backstage fistfight with Bill Murray, who reportedly taunted Chevy about his failing marriage).
- It wasn't until he met Jayni Luke in 1981 that he finally found stability.
The "Susan years" were the foundation of his struggle with fame. He was navigating the transition from a "nobody" musician to the biggest star in America, all while dealing with the fallout of a marriage that probably shouldn't have happened in the first place.
Where Is Susan Hewitt Now?
This is where the trail goes cold for most people. Unlike Chevy’s other exes, Susan Hewitt didn't stay in the spotlight. She didn't write a tell-all book. She didn't try to land a reality show. She basically vanished back into a normal life.
There is often confusion online because several other women named Susan Hewitt exist in public records—one is a prominent real estate agent in California, and another is an actress in older TV movies. However, the Susan who was married to Chevy Chase has remained incredibly private.
She doesn't have a public social media presence. She doesn't do interviews about her "famous ex-husband." In a world where everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame, her silence is actually kind of refreshing.
Setting the Record Straight
There are a few myths that always pop up when people talk about Susan Hewitt and Chevy Chase. Let's clear those up:
- They didn't have children. While the pregnancy was the reason for the marriage, they did not have any children together during their three years of marriage.
- She wasn't an SNL cast member. People sometimes confuse her with the actresses on the show because of the timing, but she was never part of the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players."
- The divorce wasn't "friendly." It was a sharp, sudden break. Chevy has rarely spoken of her with any fondness in the decades since.
What This Story Teaches Us About Fame
Looking back at the relationship between Susan and Chevy, it’s a reminder that the people we see on screen are often dealing with a massive amount of personal baggage. When Chevy was smiling at the camera and saying, "I'm Chevy Chase, and you're not," he was a man who had just walked out of a failed, pressurized marriage and into a whirlwind of drugs and ego.
It makes his later stability with Jayni Chase much more impressive. He had to fail twice—publicly and painfully—before he figured out how to be a husband and a father.
If you're digging into the history of the original SNL cast, you've got to understand the Susan Hewitt era. It explains the chip on Chevy's shoulder. It explains the frantic energy he brought to his early roles. He wasn't just a funny guy; he was a guy trying to outrun a messy past.
Actionable Insight for Fans: If you're a fan of comedy history, don't just watch the sketches. Pick up a copy of I'm Chevy Chase... and You're Not by Rena Fruchter. It provides the most direct quotes from Chevy regarding this era of his life and offers a rare, unfiltered look at the man behind the pratfalls before he became a Hollywood icon. Understanding his early personal failures gives a lot more context to the "difficult" reputation he earned later in his career.