What to Know About Marvin Hagler’s Wife Bertha and their Kids

Bertha Hagler is the wife of Marvin Hagler, an American boxer considered to be amongst the greatest in middleweight boxing.

The marriage between the two lasted for 10 years before it ended in divorce in 1980. In that time, they welcomed 5 children; Marvin Jr., James, Gentry, Celeste, and Charelle. Since then, Bertha continued to maintain a life that is private even though not many have forgotten about her marriage to the late boxer.

Bertha Hagler was Born in the 1950s

The real date in which Bertha was born is not very clear but there are still sources that claimed she was born in the same year as her former husband, Marvin. This means that she is now 70 years old. We know for sure that she was born in Massacheutes and was brought up in Brockton.

Bertha was born into the family of Ann Dixon Washington and John L Washington and she was brought up together with several siblings, including Joseph Washington, John Washington Jr, and Kevin Washington. Her other siblings are reported to be Leannna Kirk, Leo Dixon, and James Marsh, although it is not clear how they all became siblings.

Like most other things that concern her early life, the educational pursuits of Hagler’s former wife are not well-detailed. Nonetheless, it has been gathered that she got her high school education from the Brockton High school in Massacheuttes. There is no further information on whether she continued her academic journey from here or it was here that it came to an end without enrolling in a college.

Bertha and Marvin Hagler were Teenagers When They First Met

Bertha and Marvin men when they were 14 years old. Marvin was born in Newark, New Jersey, but when he was still a child, he moved with his family to Brockton, Massachusetts when he was between 12 and 13 years old. This was the move that helped Marvin to meet Bertha for the first time. It has been revealed that the meeting between the two was orchestrated by Bertha’s sister and after then, they remained very close.

Even at that, Marvin was not the first man that Bertha would later marry as along the line, she met and got married to another man whose name is not known. The marriage did not last a very long time before it ended in divorce after producing two children.

Marvin would later reveal that since he met Bertha as a teenager, he had always loved her, and even after their marriage came to an end, he stated that he was not going to stop loving her. Hence, it was not a surprise when after her divorce, he went back to her and the two got married in 1980.

Meet Bertha and Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s Children

In their 10 years of being married, Marvin and Bertha were parents to five amazing kids, two of whom were birthed by Bertha from her first marriage while they had three together. Here is a look at all the children and where they are today:

James Hagler

The oldest child of Bertha and Marvin is James Hagler who has always been thought of as the first child of the legendary fighter. Nonetheless, he is actually the first child of Bertha from her first marriage and was only adopted by Marvin. James was born in 1972, which makes him 8 years old when his mother got married to Hagler.

Probably as a result of the influence of his father, James Hagler got into boxing at a young age, but he only had a few fights to his name before he called it quits. He started boxing in the early 1990s and he later went pro. A member of the American Boxing Association, James was involved in a total of four professional fights in which he recorded one draw and three wins.

Even after hanging his gloves, he did not go too far from the sport he has always loved as he became a boxing promoter, something he still does to date. His son, James Hagler Jr. is also a boxer.

Celeste Hagler

Celeste is the second daughter of Bertha from her first marriage. She was born o April 23 1974 in Boston, which means that she was 6 years old when her mother married Hagler and when he adopted her as his daughter.

A graduate of Hanover High School, Celeste has always maintained a very private life so much that what she has been involved in over the years is not clear. What is known is that she currently lives in Georgia with her child.

Marvin Hagler Jr.

Hagler Jr. is known as the first child between Bertha and Marvin, although he is Bertha’s third child. He was born either in 1980 or 1981, but the exact date of his birth remains elusive. Even with a father as famous as Marvin, details regarding the childhood and early life of the younger Hagler have been well hidden from the public.

What he does for a living at the moment is also not clear but it is known that he does not have a career as a boxer. Nonetheless, in April 2017, 30 years after his father slugged it out with Ray Leonard, he joined Ray Leonard Jr. to commemorate the date with a boxing match between the two while Richard Steele, who was the referee of the initial fight, also came in to moderate the bout.

Charelle Hagler

Not so much is being talked about her, but Charelle Monique Hagler is known as the second child between Marvin and Bertha. She was born in 1982, shortly before her father’s fight against William Lee. Her birth drew so much attention because her father was not there when she was born and refused to go and see her because he did not want to have any emotions in his fight against the Caveman.

In a similar way to her brother, nothing much is known about what Gentry is currently doing for a living today or where she might be, although it is believed that she is still in the United States where she was born and brought up.

Gentry Hagler

Gentry is the last member of the family who was also birthed to the couple. Unfortunately, the date of his birth is not revealed neither are details as regards his childhood, education, what he is currently involved in, or where he might be.

Bertha and Marvelous Marvin Hagler’s Marriage Came To an End After a Decade

Brtha and Marvelous Marvin were only able to stay married for ten years. The first few years of their marriage were rather difficult because it was during a period when Marvin’s career was most critical. However, they managed to hold things together for close to a decade before things finally fell apart in 1990 when they divorced.

Cracks in the marriage first showed well before 1987, but by that time, so many things happened that forced them to get separated temporarily. At a point, Bertha lost her mum and she hoped that the loss would bring herself and her husband closer, but that was not to be as he suffered a terrible loss in his fight against Sugar Ray Leonard in April of the same year, costing him his WBC and The Ring middleweight titles which he held since 1980 after beating Alan Minter to take the two titles home. He retained the titles for the next 7 years, defeating 12 people to retain the titles on 12 different occasions before losing it.

Hagler did not take the loss well and even though his wife at the time tried to have them work on their marriage that was clearly falling apart, he was adamant, making it clear that he was not in the right frame of mind to work on anything, not even on himself until he got back his belts. The marriage continued to deteriorate and then in 1990, they felt there were no more reasons to continue, so they parted ways.

On the reason for the divorce, Marvin claimed that it was the media that was always getting involved in his marriage, stating that he had been together with her for a long time and would have figured things out if the media had just left them alone. On her part, Bertha claimed that her former husband did not make things easy because as a result of his success, there were many women eager to throw themselves at him and he always seemed welcoming because he never saw the reason to push them off.

Bertha Once Sued Her Husband Before Their Divorce

In 1987, just a couple of years before the marriage between Marvin Hagler and his first wife ended and shortly after he lost his referred titles, Bertha sued him in court, requesting for a protection order against the boxer.

According to Bertha, she was abused by the fighter who had also resorted to abusing alcohol and drugs after he lost the aforementioned fight. She made it clear that she did not want her marriage to Marvin to end, but she just wanted to get protection against him until he sought and got the help she believed he desperately needed.

Marvin Hagler’s wife, while detailing what she revealed as the first time he ever abused her, revealed that after abusing her, he threw her out of the house, and then he used a boulder to hit her car.  On his part, Marvin insisted that the claims against him for abusing his wife were completely false as he had never abused her in all the years of their marriage. He indicated that following an argument he had with her, he only threw a rock at her car and nothing more in their home in Hanover.

Marvin’s wife appeared in Hingham District court with the request that a restraining order should be handed against Hagler who since he lost the fight had mostly been in seclusion in his Barlett home. Her wish was granted in July 1987 and it was to last for three months within which he was expected to get treatment for his cocaine use.

Marvin Hagler Remarried Before His Death

Following his divorce which also coincided with the end of his career as a boxer, Marvin Hagler left the United States for Italy where he met his second wife whose name is Kay. They dated for a while and then in May 2000, 10 years after his divorce, they got married in Pioltello.

The pair remained very close in the years that followed even though they did not have any children together. They were together for the next twenty years, living between Italy and the United States, until March 13, 2021, when Marvin died. His son, James Hagler revealed that the legendary middleweight boxer passed after he complained of chest pain and difficulty in breathing.

There were some claims making the rounds that his death was as a result of the effects of the COVID-19 vaccine, but it was later clarified that the news was not true.

Marvin Hagler’s Wife Has Not Remarried and She is in the United States

While she has not been so much of a public person since her marriage came to an end, it is no secret that Bertha has remained unmarried. She has always been in Georgia where she continued to raise her kids as she got custody of them following the end of the union. More so, with Mervin away in Italy, she had the role of serving as both father and mother to the kids while they were growing up even though the late boxer was also involved.

Dedicated to raising her kids, she did not get married another time, but it is not known if she has given love another try by dating anyone through the years. Yet another thing that is not clear is whether she is interested in getting married now that all her kids are grown and having lives of their own.

Bertha is currently living in Georgia where she has been all these years and it has been reported that she has taken to several small jobs over the years including at Walmart.

FAQs

Who is Bertha Hagler?

Bertha Hagler is the wife of Marvin Hagler, an American boxer considered to be amongst the greatest in middleweight boxing. She was born in Massacheutes and raised in Brockton. However, her date of birth is not very clear, but there are sources that claim she was born in the same year as her former husband, Marvin. If this is true then she is now 70 years old.

How Old is Bertha Hagler?

Bertha Hagler date of birth is not very clear, but there are sources that claim she was born in the same year as her former husband, Marvin Hagler. If this is true then she is now 70 years old.

How Long Were Bertha Hagler and Marvin Hagler Married?

Bertha Hagler and Marvin Hagler were married for close to 10 years before things finally fell apart in 1990 when they divorced and went their separate ways.

What Happened To Marvin Hagler?

Marvin Hagler died on March 13, 2021. His son, James Hagler, revealed that the legendary middleweight boxer passed after he complained of chest pain and difficulty in breathing.