Last updated: 2026
Anne Steves is best known as the former wife of Rick Steves, the American travel writer and public television host. Her name gets searched a lot, but she has never given a public interview, and she does not appear to have any public social media account. That is why so many websites repeat the same details, and why some of those details don’t match each other. This article separates what reliable sources confirm from what is only repeated online, so you know what you can trust. I assumed you mean Rick Steves’ ex-wife, since that is who people look for under this name.
Anne Steves Quick Facts
Before the full story, here is a short summary. I added a confidence column because the internet mixes solid facts with guesses about Anne Steves, and it helps to see the difference at a glance. Anything marked “Reported only” shows up on many websites, but I could not trace it to an interview, a court record, or a major news outlet.
| Detail | What is known | Confidence |
|---|---|---|
| Known for | Former wife of travel writer Rick Steves | Confirmed |
| Marriage | Married in 1984 | Confirmed (one site says 1983) |
| Divorce | 2010 | Confirmed |
| Length of marriage | About 25 to 26 years | Sources differ |
| Children | Two: son Andy and daughter Jackie | Andy confirmed, Jackie widely reported |
| Date and place of birth | Often listed as April 4, 1960, in Snohomish, Washington | Reported only |
| Profession | Often described as a nurse and social activist | Reported only |
| Public profile | Private, no known interviews | Consistent across sources |
| Net worth | No confirmed figure | Not confirmed |
Who Is Anne Steves?
Anne Steves is the woman who was married to Rick Steves from 1984 until 2010. Rick is the author of the guidebook Europe Through the Back Door and the host of Rick Steves’ Europe, a long-running TV series on public television. Anne never became a public figure herself, and she has stayed out of media coverage, which is the main reason her life story is so thin. The marriage, the divorce, and her life today are also where online articles disagree the most, so I go through them one at a time below.
Anne Steves Early Life: What Is Known and What Isn’t
Most biography pages say Anne Steves was born on April 4, 1960, in Snohomish, Washington, a small town north of Seattle. The trouble is that none of them point to a birth record, a school record, or an interview with her. One site even says she has never confirmed her birth date, and another places her birth in the late 1950s. So I treat the 1960 date as a common estimate, not a proven fact. If it is right, she would be about 66 years old in 2026.
Details about her parents, siblings, schooling, and childhood are missing from every reliable source I found. One site gives her maiden name as Jenkins. I only saw that on a single page, so I’m not using it as a fact. Her private approach to life is clear, and it limits how much anyone can honestly say about her early years.
Anne Steves Career: Is She Really a Nurse?
Almost every article about Anne Steves calls her a nurse and a quiet social activist, and this is the most repeated claim about her working life. It may well be true, but I could not connect it to an employer, a license record, a news story, or a statement from her or Rick. The same goes for one site that says she has special training in nuclear medicine, which appears on a single page and nowhere else. Because of that, I describe the nursing work as widely reported but not verified.
As for her role in Rick’s business, I found no reliable source that lists her as an employee or manager of his company. Wikipedia explains that Rick started with travel classes, self-published his first guidebook in 1980, and ran a small storefront business in Edmonds, Washington, which is the setting when the couple married. Wikipedia also says he spends about a third of every year in Europe for research and filming. Many profiles say Anne supported the family during those long absences, but that is an interpretation, not a documented fact.
Marriage to Rick Steves (1984 to 2010)
Anne and Rick Steves married in 1984, according to Wikipedia’s entry on Rick, and that is the year I use. One entertainment site gives 1983, which shows how easily small errors spread. Several biography pages say the couple met in 1982, dated for about two years, and held a private wedding at a church in Villanova, Pennsylvania, followed by a reception at a golf club. I list those as reported details, since they are repeated widely but I saw no original source for them.
The marriage lasted until 2010, so it ran about 25 to 26 years depending on the month, and that is why sources split between the two numbers. Britannica says 25 years, while most lifestyle sites say 26. A few pages claim it lasted three decades, which does not fit the dates.
Why the Marriage Ended: What Was Actually Said
Anne Steves’ divorce was finalized in 2010, and that year is well confirmed. Many sites add that the papers were filed in 2009 at Snohomish County Superior Court and finished on March 5, 2010, but I could not check a court record, so I call that reported only. Neither Anne nor Rick has publicly given a detailed reason for the split. Anne has never spoken about it in any interview I could find.
What Rick has said is more useful. In a December 2024 interview with The New York Times, he talked about regrets and said his travel career had not been good for his family, and he mentioned that he got divorced. Britannica adds that he has discussed neglecting his parental responsibilities and says his relationship with his children is stronger now. He did not blame Anne, and neither does any source I trust. You will see rumors about affairs and other private matters in some articles, but no reliable source backs them, so I am not repeating them here.
Anne Steves’ Children: Andy and Jackie
Anne and Rick have two children. Their son, Andy Steves, is confirmed by Wikipedia as the founder of Weekend Student Adventures Europe, a travel company, and as the author of Andy Steves’ Europe: City-Hopping on a Budget. Their daughter is named Jackie on most sites, though I found very little verified detail about her work or life, and some pages say she has appeared in her father’s shows without naming a single episode. Because the family has kept much of its life private, I am keeping this section short and sticking to what is documented.
Anne Steves Today: Privacy, Net Worth and 2026 Updates
As of 2026, I found no verified news about Anne Steves. Several pages dated between June and September 2026 came up in my search, but they repeat the same old details and cite no new source, so I did not add a “latest updates” section. She has no confirmed public social media account, no memoir, and no known interviews. Sites disagree on where she lives, with some saying Snohomish and others Edmonds, and since she is a private person I am not naming a place. Rick began dating Shelley Bryan Wee, a Lutheran bishop, in December 2019 according to Wikipedia, but there is no reliable information about Anne’s relationships.
Her net worth has never been confirmed. One site puts it at roughly $700,000 to $1 million in 2026 but gives no source, so treat that as an unsupported estimate as of 2026. Neither side has published the terms of the divorce settlement. Rick’s wealth is often discussed online, and some sites mix his numbers into hers, which is misleading.
Conflicting Details Online: A Quick Fact-Check
If you have read more than one Anne Steves biography, you probably noticed the details don’t line up. The table below shows the most common conflicts I found and how I handled each one. This is the part most competing pages skip, and it matters because a single wrong date gets copied across dozens of sites.
| Claim | Versions found | How I handled it |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage year | 1983 vs 1984 | Used 1984 (Wikipedia) |
| Length of marriage | 25 years, 26 years, “three decades” | Said about 25 to 26 years |
| Birth date | April 4, 1960 vs “never confirmed” vs late 1950s | Called it unconfirmed |
| Where she lives | Snohomish vs Edmonds | Left it out |
| Training | Nurse vs nuclear medicine specialist | Nurse is reported only, nuclear medicine left out |
How This Was Researched
I researched this profile by running several searches on Anne Steves, her marriage, her divorce, and 2026 news, then going through about a dozen biography-style pages from lifestyle and entertainment sites. I also read Rick Steves’ full Wikipedia entry and the Britannica summary, since those were the most careful sources that mention her. As far as I can find, Anne has never spoken publicly, so nothing here comes from her. Where sites disagreed, I said so and leaned on the more reliable source. The gap I tried to fill is simple: most existing pages present rumors and guesses as facts, and this one shows which details are actually solid.
Accuracy Note
This biography is based on publicly available information, including Wikipedia, Britannica, and published interviews. Details marked as reported or unconfirmed could not be verified with a primary source. If you spot anything outdated or incorrect, please let us know so we can update it.
Written and researched by Laura Castillo, contributor at icons golf cart