Johnny Young’s Four Marriages and the Curious Detail He Left Out When Looking Back on His Love Life

For generations of Australians, Johnny Young was the smiling television personality behind Young Talent Time — a singer, songwriter and producer whose career helped shape Australian entertainment.

But away from the stage and television cameras, Young experienced a personal life marked by four marriages, profound family loss and one relationship that would later be conspicuously absent when he publicly reflected on his romantic past.

Young’s family announced that the entertainment veteran had died aged 79 after pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his wife Marisha, daughters Anna and Fleur, sister Cornelia, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

His son Craig had died from the same disease in 2015, aged 48.

A first love followed by an early tragedy

Young married his childhood sweetheart Jane in 1964, and the couple welcomed his only son, Craig.

Their story ended painfully when Jane died from leukaemia while still in her 20s.

Young later rebuilt his family life with his second wife, Cathy, whom he married in 1972. They had two daughters, Anna and Fleur.

The couple separated in 1995 after more than two decades together, but Young later said they remained on friendly terms.

In a 2018 interview with the Sun-Herald, he described the relationship as one that had simply reached its natural end rather than becoming defined by bitterness.

Following Craig’s death in 2015, Young also spoke about becoming particularly close to his daughters.

The marriage that disappeared from a later account

Several years after separating from Cathy, Young married Rose McKimmie.

The pair eloped in Bali on Christmas Eve in 1999 after having known each other for years.

Their relationship was featured on Australian Story in 2000, where both spoke warmly about how a long friendship had gradually developed into something more.

Young described McKimmie at the time in glowing terms and explained that he had initially hesitated before eventually deciding he could not imagine life without her.

The couple went on to live at Rosewood, a battery-powered cottage outside Melbourne.

Their marriage, however, ended by 2002.

What makes the relationship particularly intriguing in hindsight is what happened years later.

When Young discussed his love life with the Sun-Herald in 2018, he did not mention his marriage to McKimmie at all.

Instead, while discussing his eventual relationship with Marisha, he referred to having married for a “third” time — despite Marisha actually being his fourth wife.

The reason for the omission was not explained in the reported interview.

Finding lasting happiness with Marisha

Young began a relationship with Polish-born economist Marisha in 2003.

By the time of his 2018 interview, they had been together for around 15 years.

He described himself as fortunate to have met her and said their relationship had given him a sense that things had finally worked out.

Young also spoke about appreciating what he had rather than taking his life for granted — words that carry additional weight when viewed alongside the personal losses he had experienced.

Marisha remained his wife until his death.

Love, music and a life shaped by family

Young occasionally traced his fascination with romance all the way back to childhood.

He recalled having a young girlfriend while growing up in Rotterdam before his family moved to Australia, and remembered meeting her again decades later.

He also credited television personalities such as Annette Funicello with influencing him as a youngster — with The Mickey Mouse Club ultimately helping inspire the concept that would become Young Talent Time.

Music quickly became central to his teenage life, eventually leading Young from local performances in Perth to recording, songwriting and television.