Margie Washichek is best known as the first wife of American singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett, long before “Margaritaville” turned him into an internationally recognized musician and lifestyle entrepreneur. Their marriage belongs to Buffett’s earliest professional chapter, when he was finishing college, moving to Nashville, working for Billboard, and trying to establish himself as a recording artist. Institutional biographies confirm that Washichek and Buffett married in 1969 and later separated in the early 1970s. Unlike Buffett, however, Washichek did not build a documented career in entertainment, and credible biographical sources provide few details about her life outside their marriage.
Quick Facts About Margie Washichek
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name commonly published | Margie Washichek |
| Known for | Jimmy Buffett’s first wife |
| Marriage | 1969 |
| Former husband | Jimmy Buffett |
| Wedding location | St. Joseph’s Chapel at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama |
| Life with Buffett | The couple moved to Nashville during the beginning of his professional music career |
| Marriage ended | Early 1970s; several major biographies list 1972, while Encyclopedia of Alabama gives 1971 |
| Public career | No independently documented entertainment or business career established by authoritative sources |
Sources including Encyclopedia of Alabama, EBSCO’s biographical reference on Buffett, Biography.com, and the University of Southern Mississippi’s student publication agree on Washichek’s central place in Buffett’s early personal history.
Who Is Margie Washichek?
Margie Washichek was Jimmy Buffett’s girlfriend during the period immediately before he began pursuing music professionally. Buffett graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1969 with a degree in history. That same year, he married Washichek. Encyclopedia of Alabama places their wedding at St. Joseph’s Chapel on the Spring Hill College campus in Mobile.
The University of Southern Mississippi’s student publication, SM2, also connects Washichek to this formative stage of Buffett’s life. Its account says Buffett and Washichek moved to Nashville after his graduation, putting their marriage directly alongside his transition from college musician to aspiring professional songwriter and recording artist.
“In 1969, he graduated with a degree in history, and also married his girlfriend, Margie Washichek.” — Florida Division of Arts and Culture
That simple line captures the historical significance of the relationship: Washichek was part of Buffett’s life before the tropical imagery, major record sales, Coral Reefer Band, and Margaritaville brand that eventually defined his career.
Margie Washichek and Jimmy Buffett’s Marriage
Buffett and Washichek married at a moment when his future was far from secure. After completing college, he headed toward Nashville, then the center of the country-music business, hoping to turn his songwriting and performing into a profession.
Nashville did not bring immediate success. Buffett found work with Billboard magazine while continuing to perform and pursue a record deal. Encyclopedia of Alabama describes the job as his first and only conventional nine-to-five position. He subsequently signed with Barnaby Records and released Down to Earth in 1970. The album attracted little commercial attention, and another early project, High Cumberland Jubilee, also failed to establish him as a major artist at the time.
EBSCO similarly places Washichek in this Nashville chapter, noting that Buffett married her in 1969, moved to Tennessee, worked for Billboard, performed locally, and recorded early albums before his career took a different direction in Florida.
When Did Margie Washichek and Jimmy Buffett Divorce?
The broad chronology is clear, although published reference sources differ slightly on the exact year.
Biography.com identifies Washichek as Buffett’s spouse from 1969 to 1972. Other widely circulated biographies also use 1972. Encyclopedia of Alabama, however, says Buffett divorced his first wife in 1971 before moving toward the Key West period of his life.
Because authoritative sources do not agree, the safest conclusion is that the marriage ended in the early 1970s, shortly before Buffett’s artistic identity underwent a major transformation.
Timeline of Margie Washichek and Jimmy Buffett’s Early Years
| Period | What Happened |
| 1969 | Buffett graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi and married Margie Washichek. |
| 1969–1970 | The couple moved to Nashville as Buffett pursued music and worked for Billboard. |
| 1970 | Buffett released his first album, Down to Earth, through Barnaby Records. |
| Early 1970s | Washichek and Buffett’s marriage ended. Published sources differ between 1971 and 1972. |
| Early 1970s onward | Buffett increasingly associated himself with Florida and Key West, where the musical persona later linked with his career began taking shape. |
Where Margie Washichek Fits Into Jimmy Buffett’s Story
Washichek’s place in Buffett’s biography is significant because of timing rather than celebrity. She was his spouse during the difficult period between college and commercial success.
After the marriage ended, Buffett’s career entered a markedly different phase. He developed stronger ties to Key West, worked with musicians including Jerry Jeff Walker, and eventually created a distinctive mix of country, folk, rock, reggae, and coastal themes. EBSCO describes this Florida period as the stage in which his musical career began to flourish.
His later achievements were substantial. “Margaritaville,” released in 1977, became his defining recording, while his music ultimately supported a much broader collection of restaurants, merchandise, entertainment ventures, and lifestyle businesses. Buffett was posthumously inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024 in the Musical Excellence category.
Washichek’s marriage to him predates all of that. It belongs to the Nashville apprenticeship period, when Buffett was still looking for a workable path into the music business.
Was Margie Washichek Jimmy Buffett’s Only Wife?
No. Buffett married twice.
His first marriage was to Margie Washichek in 1969. After that relationship ended, he met Jane Slagsvol in Key West. Buffett and Slagsvol married in 1977 and had a much longer marriage that lasted until Buffett’s death in 2023. EBSCO records that Buffett and Slagsvol had three children.
This distinction matters because some details associated with Buffett’s later family life are incorrectly attached to Washichek on low-quality biography pages. His documented children belong to his marriage with Jane Slagsvol, not his marriage to Washichek.
What Is Known About Margie Washichek After the Divorce?
Major reference sources that discuss Washichek focus almost entirely on her marriage to Buffett. They do not establish a later profession, entertainment career, business portfolio, or other independently documented public role for her.
For that reason, specific claims frequently published elsewhere about Margie Washichek’s current residence, personal fortune, exact birth details, occupation, or subsequent family life should not be treated as established biography without stronger documentation.
FAQs About Margie Washichek
Who is Margie Washichek?
Margie Washichek is best known as the first wife of singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett. They married in 1969 during the period when Buffett graduated from college and began pursuing a professional music career.
When did Margie Washichek marry Jimmy Buffett?
Washichek and Buffett married in 1969. Encyclopedia of Alabama says the ceremony took place at St. Joseph’s Chapel on the campus of Spring Hill College in Mobile, Alabama.
How long were Margie Washichek and Jimmy Buffett married?
They were married for roughly two to three years. Biography.com gives the marriage as 1969–1972, while Encyclopedia of Alabama places the divorce in 1971.
Did Margie Washichek live in Nashville with Jimmy Buffett?
Yes. Sources from EBSCO and the University of Southern Mississippi place the couple in Nashville after Buffett graduated in 1969. During that period, Buffett worked for Billboard and pursued his recording career.
Did Margie Washichek and Jimmy Buffett have children?
Authoritative biographies do not identify Washichek as the mother of Buffett’s children. Buffett’s three documented children were from his later marriage to Jane Slagsvol.
What does Margie Washichek do now?
Reliable institutional biographies do not document her present occupation or current residence, so assigning either would be speculative.
Conclusion
Margie Washichek occupies a small but clearly documented chapter in Jimmy Buffett’s biography. She married Buffett in 1969, joined him during his move into Nashville’s music industry, and was his wife while he worked for Billboard and made his earliest recordings. Their marriage ended before Buffett created the Key West-inspired sound and persona that eventually made him famous. Rather than filling gaps with unsupported personal details, the clearest picture of Washichek comes from recognizing her place in that pivotal pre-fame period of Buffett’s life.
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