Jayne Posner: Neil Diamond's First Wife, Explained

Jayne Posner: Who Neil Diamond’s First Wife Was

Jayne Posner, spelled Jaye Posner in most reliable sources, was Neil Diamond’s first wife. They married in 1963, separated in 1967 and, by most accounts, divorced in 1969. They had two daughters.

Quick Facts

Also spelled: Jaye Posner
Known as: Neil Diamond’s first wife
Married: 1963
Separated: 1967
Divorced: 1969, according to most biographical references
Children: Two daughters, Marjorie and Elyn
Public profile: Very limited. Almost everything written about her comes from her link to Diamond.

Who is Jayne Posner?

She is known almost entirely through her marriage to Neil Diamond, the singer-songwriter behind “Sweet Caroline.” Beyond that, the public record is thin. We found no interviews with her, and most of what circulates online traces back to the same few biographical sources.

You will see her name spelled both ways. Jaye is the spelling in Playbill and IBDB listings for A Beautiful Noise, the Diamond musical. Jayne is common in search results and on newer profile sites. Both refer to the same person.

How she met Neil Diamond

Diamond worked as a waiter in the Catskills, and that is where accounts say he met Jaye Posner. Many profiles describe them as high school sweethearts instead. The sources don’t reconcile the two versions, so the exact start of the relationship stays unclear.

What is clear is that they married before Diamond had any hits. In 1963 he was still a few years from the songs that made his name.

Marriage and divorce timeline

When	What happened
Before 1963	Diamond meets Jaye Posner, most often placed in the Catskills
1963	The couple marries
1965	Daughter Marjorie is born (reported)
1967	The couple separates
1968	Daughter Elyn is born (reported)
1969	The divorce, per most references; Diamond marries Marcia Murphey

Diamond married Marcia Murphey, a production assistant, in 1969. Several profiles say the wedding came only days after the divorce. The exact dates differ from site to site, so treat that detail as unconfirmed.

He and Murphey had two sons and stayed married for about 25 years. In April 2012, Diamond married his manager, Katie McNeil, in Los Angeles. It was his third marriage.

Her daughters

HELLO! reports that Diamond and Posner had two daughters, Marjorie, born in 1965, and Elyn, born in 1968. The outlet says both have preferred to stay out of the spotlight.

One caution on the dates. Elyn’s reported 1968 birth falls after the 1967 separation that most profiles give. One of those years may be approximate, so don’t treat either as exact.

What isn’t confirmed

A lot of what circulates about her online is copied from site to site without a source. These claims need careful handling:

Her job. Several profiles, including Smooth Radio’s, describe her as a schoolteacher. It may be true, but no primary source we found confirms it.
Her age and birthplace. Many sites give 1940 and Brooklyn. They tend to repeat each other, and none points to a record.
Her net worth. Figures appear on some profile sites, but none shows where the number came from.
Why the marriage ended. Nobody with firsthand knowledge has explained it publicly in anything we found. Popular explanations, like the strain of Diamond’s career or a relationship with Murphey before the divorce, are rumor or interpretation.
Where she lives now. This isn’t public information.

Jaye Posner in A Beautiful Noise

Diamond’s life story reached Broadway in the musical A Beautiful Noise, and Jaye Posner appears in it as a character. IBDB lists the role in the original Broadway production, and the North American tour announced Tiffany Tatreau in the part in 2024. Stage biographies compress and dramatize, so the show is a portrait, not a record of what happened.

FAQs

Who is Jayne Posner?
Jayne Posner, usually spelled Jaye Posner, was Neil Diamond’s first wife. They married in 1963 and had two daughters. Little else about her life is documented in reliable sources.

Is it Jayne Posner or Jaye Posner?
They refer to the same person. Jaye is the spelling in Playbill and IBDB listings for A Beautiful Noise, while Jayne is common in search results and newer profile sites.

When did Neil Diamond and Jaye Posner divorce?
Most biographical references date the divorce to 1969. Profiles report that the couple separated in 1967.

Did Neil Diamond and Jaye Posner have children?
Yes. HELLO! reports that they had two daughters, Marjorie and Elyn.