Who Was Maya Angelou’s Husband? Her Marriages and Relationships Explained
If you’ve ever wondered who was Maya Angelou’s husband, the answer is more nuanced than a single name. Maya Angelou lived a full, expansive life shaped by love, growth, and self-discovery, and her marriages reflect that journey. While she was deeply connected to many people over the years, she was legally married twice. Each marriage marked a distinct chapter in her life and helped shape the woman and writer the world came to admire.
Who Was Maya Angelou?
Maya Angelou, born Marguerite Annie Johnson, was one of the most influential voices in American literature. She was a poet, memoirist, playwright, performer, and civil rights activist whose work explored identity, resilience, racism, and womanhood with rare honesty and grace.
Her best-known work, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, broke new ground with its autobiographical storytelling and emotional openness. Because Angelou often drew from her own experiences, readers naturally became curious about her personal life—especially her relationships and marriages.
How Many Times Was Maya Angelou Married?
Maya Angelou was legally married twice. Over the years, confusion has arisen because she also had significant long-term relationships that were not formal marriages. Additionally, different biographies sometimes list slightly different dates, which adds to the uncertainty.
Despite that confusion, the most reliable sources consistently identify two husbands:
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Enistasios “Tosh” Angelos
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Paul du Feu
These marriages occurred at very different stages of her life and reflected her evolving sense of self.
Maya Angelou’s First Husband: Enistasios “Tosh” Angelos
Maya Angelou’s first husband was Enistasios “Tosh” Angelos, a Greek American man often described as a former sailor and musician. They married in 1951, when Angelou was still in her early adulthood and searching for stability and identity.
This marriage is especially notable because it influenced the name the world would come to know. Angelou adopted a version of her husband’s surname, transforming “Angelos” into “Angelou,” a name she kept long after the marriage ended.
The relationship lasted only a few years, ending in divorce around 1954. It took place during a time when interracial marriages were far less accepted in American society, adding social pressure to an already challenging partnership.
Although short-lived, this marriage played a foundational role in Angelou’s life. It coincided with her early efforts to support herself and her young son while exploring creative and performance-based work.
Maya Angelou’s Second Husband: Paul du Feu
Maya Angelou’s second husband was Paul du Feu, a Welsh writer and cartoonist. By the time she married him in the early 1970s, Angelou was already an established literary figure with international recognition.
Their marriage is commonly dated to 1973 or 1974, with the divorce occurring in the early 1980s. Unlike her first marriage, this relationship unfolded during a period when Angelou was publicly successful but still navigating personal growth and emotional independence.
Paul du Feu is often the husband people remember most because this marriage overlapped with Angelou’s most visible years as a writer, speaker, and cultural figure. Despite its length, the marriage ultimately ended, and Angelou chose not to remarry afterward.
Important Relationships That Were Not Marriages
Part of the confusion around the question “who was Maya Angelou’s husband” comes from the fact that she had meaningful relationships that were not legal marriages.
One of the most frequently mentioned was her relationship with Vusumzi Make, a South African anti-apartheid activist. The two were involved during the early 1960s while Angelou was living abroad. Although their partnership was significant, they were never legally married.
Angelou herself did not always separate love, commitment, and legality in neat categories. Her writing often treats relationships as transformative experiences rather than titles or contracts, which is why many readers assume certain partners were husbands when they were not.
How Marriage Influenced Maya Angelou’s Views on Love
Maya Angelou spoke candidly about love, independence, and personal growth. She did not romanticize marriage as an ultimate achievement, nor did she dismiss it as a failure when it ended.
Instead, her life suggested a belief that people change—and that relationships sometimes end not because they were meaningless, but because they served their purpose at a particular moment in time. Her marriages, especially the first, were part of learning who she was and who she needed to become.
That perspective appears throughout her autobiographical works, where love is portrayed as powerful, imperfect, and deeply human.
Why Maya Angelou Never Married Again
After divorcing Paul du Feu, Maya Angelou never married again. This decision seems less about disappointment and more about fulfillment. By that point in her life, she was deeply engaged in writing, teaching, activism, and public speaking.
Angelou built strong friendships and community connections and appeared content living independently. Marriage was no longer necessary for emotional or personal completeness, and she never suggested that it should be.
Her later years were marked by reflection, mentorship, and creative output rather than romantic pursuit.
