Travis Barker first grew to fame as a member of the band Blink-182, but these days, he's only making headlines for his time with leading reality TV lady Kourtney Kardashian. While some say the pair's relationship isn't quite right, they seem outwardly happy and have talked about having a baby together.
Fans are even hoping that the two will wind up with their own reality show, even though it would be understandable if Travis wanted to stay as far from it as possible. After all, his past includes a short-lived reality series with one of his ex-wives. But Shanna Moakler isn't Travis' only ex-wife—though she's definitely the most well-known and creates the most headlines with her comments about her ex's "disgusting" third marriage.
But who was Travis Barker's first wife, and where is she now?
Travis Barker Is On His Third Marriage With Kourtney Kardashian
In what seemed like an unlikely pairing at the start, Travis Barker fell in love with Kourtney Kardashian, and the two got married in 2022. For Kourtney, it was her first marriage, after many years of off-and-on relationship drama with her ex Scott Disick.
Travis stole hearts when he said he just knew he would marry Kourtney one day, and purposely moved to her neighborhood to do so. That seems adorable if not a bit sketchy, especially considering that Travis was once enamored with Kim rather than Kourtney.
Of course, with all the focus on the pair's relationship (and that headline-making PDA), people might have forgotten that this isn't Travis' first or second rodeo.
For Travis Barker, it's his third marriage; Travis was previously married to Shanna Moakler from 2004 to 2008. Prior to that, he was married to Melissa Kennedy for nine months back in 2002.
Barker's relationship with Shanna Moakler clearly made the most headlines, leaving fans to wonder about his first wife.
Travis' Ex Shanna Moakler Has Always Made Headlines
Even before Shanna Moakler wound up with Travis Barker, she was making headlines for her modeling and acting gigs, having a baby with Oscar De La Hoya, winning Miss USA and other pageants, and even eating Dennis Quaid.
Once she and Travis married, Shanna made a new string of headlines. The two welcomed two children together, starred in their own reality series, and more. But their relationship issues and subsequent split were acrimonious, with the police being called on the pair at least once.
In many ways, Travis' marrying Kourtney helped clean up his messy past, helping people forget about the threats he apparently made against his ex. But it's still possible to track down details of Barker's relationship history, including the not-so-glamorous parts.
Who Was Travis' First Wife, Melissa Kennedy?
Although Blink-182 fans might remember Travis Barker's first wedding in 2002, hardly anyone else seems to. Even Wikipedia has a single sentence on Melissa Kennedy, and the fact that the two were married for only nine months, with the divorce ending things in August 2002.
However, Travis himself spilled the beans on his shortest marriage with the release of his book, which is where fans also found out the details of his previous crush on Kim Kardashian (and his brief relationship with Paris Hilton).
The book is said to have discussed Travis' marriage to Melissa Kennedy, where he stated that he was cheating on her well before they got married.
Newsweek quotes Travis as writing, "Before Melissa and I got married, I was constantly looking for other girls, picking them up at strip clubs and wherever else I could find them. Even on the night of my bachelor party: I wasn't married yet."
A friend gave more details about the bachelor party, elaborating quite graphically on how Travis interacted with 30 to 40 women two days before the wedding.
What's more, Travis said, "even walking down the aisle, it felt like I was making a mistake."
So why did Travis Barker and Melissa Kennedy divorce? Barker didn't give a specific reason, but it seems that infidelity might be the main factor. Of his split from Melissa Kennedy, Travis wrote that he met another woman he was interested in; "We hadn't even been married a year, but I was already moving on."
Moving on apparently included covering up a tattoo of Melissa's name that Travis got on his neck.
Where Is Melissa Kennedy Now?
Though Melissa Kennedy isn't nearly as famous as her ex-husband, working with him helped her break into the industry; she worked as the vice president of his clothing brand back in 1999 (until 2002).
What does Melissa Kennedy do now? It's said that Melissa is a real estate agent, having gone into real estate after leaving Barker's business venture. She has apparently worked for different real estate agencies over the years and is now a broker.
Though it's been a long time since she was tied to Travis Barker, Melissa's Zillow profile reportedly says, "I needed to make sure I had a skill and a way to make a living for myself because living in the shadow of a rock musician was hard. I needed my own identity."
