Suzanne Chase married Chevy Chase in 1973, years before Saturday Night Live made him famous. Their marriage lasted only three years. Since the divorce in 1976, she has never given an interview, never confirmed a single detail about their relationship, and never appeared in any public record connected to the marriage. This article gathers everything that has actually been confirmed about her, drawn directly from Chevy Chase’s own account and verified reporting.

Who Is Suzanne Chase?

Suzanne Chase is known to the public only because of her marriage to Chevy Chase. She has never spoken about the relationship, before or after it ended. No interview, statement, or public appearance from her exists anywhere on record.

That silence has held for close to fifty years. Almost every detail about her life comes filtered through one source: Chevy Chase’s 2007 biography, I’m Chevy Chase… and You’re Not, written with Rena Fruchter. Suzanne has never confirmed or denied anything written in that book. Every claim tied to their marriage should be read as his memory of events, not her testimony.

This makes her one of the more unusual figures connected to a major celebrity. Most people who marry into fame eventually surface somewhere, whether through a memoir, an interview, or simply a social media post. Suzanne never did any of that. She built a wall around her private life and kept it standing for decades.

How Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase Met

Chevy Chase attended Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. He studied English there and graduated in 1967. During his time at Bard, he played drums and keyboards in a band called Chamaeleon Church, a short-lived psychedelic rock group based in Boston that recorded one self-titled album in 1968.

According to Chase’s biography, he met Suzanne at a concert where he was performing with that band. He was 25 years old. She was 19. Neither of them had any connection to fame at the time. He was still years away from television, working through a string of odd jobs that included construction, truck driving, and running the produce section of a supermarket.

Chase also wrote that Suzanne became pregnant during their relationship. According to his account, she agreed to end the pregnancy on the condition that he marry her. This detail comes entirely from his memoir. Suzanne has never addressed it, confirmed it, or offered any account of her own.

The 1973 Marriage

Chevy Chase and Suzanne Chase married in 1973. At that point, he had not yet joined Saturday Night Live and remained largely unknown outside small comedy and music circles in New York. Their wedding does not appear in any contemporary press coverage, and no widely circulated photographs from the ceremony exist.

This absence of documentation fits the pattern that would define the rest of Suzanne’s public life. She married a man who was still years away from national fame, lived through his uncertain early career, and left no personal trace of her own in the process.

Why the Marriage Ended

Chevy Chase and Suzanne Chase divorced in 1976, after roughly three years of marriage. The couple had no children together. He addressed the breakup directly in his 2007 biography, offering the only public account of what happened between them.

“She had an affair and simply left,” Chase said in the book. “That was the end of that.” Suzanne has never responded to this claim in any form. No countering account, denial, or clarification from her side has ever surfaced. The divorce lined up closely with a major turning point in Chase’s career, since Saturday Night Live had premiered in October 1975 while the two were still married.

Because only one side of the story has ever been told, the full picture of why the marriage ended remains incomplete. Chase’s version is the only one on record. Suzanne’s decision to stay silent, even decades after his book was published, has remained consistent throughout her entire life in the public eye.

Children

Suzanne Chase and Chevy Chase did not have any children during their marriage. No public record shows that Suzanne had children after the divorce either. Chevy’s three daughters were born years later, during his third marriage.

Life After the Divorce

Suzanne Chase’s public trail effectively ends at the 1976 divorce. She gave no interviews afterward, made no public statements, and left no confirmed record of a career, a remarriage, or a location. Even as Chevy Chase became one of the most recognized comedians in America, she remained entirely outside of that spotlight.

This kind of complete and lasting privacy is rare for anyone connected to a public figure of Chase’s stature. Decades passed, his fame grew, his biography was published, and still nothing from her side ever reached the public record. Her name endures today only through her brief connection to his early life.

Chevy Chase’s Life After the Divorce

Chase remarried twice after his split from Suzanne. He married actress Jacqueline Carlin in December 1976, though that marriage ended within a few years. In 1982, he married Jayni Luke, a production coordinator he met on a film set. That marriage has lasted more than four decades, and the couple has three daughters together.

Professionally, Chase joined the original cast of Saturday Night Live in 1975 and later built one of the most recognizable comedy film careers of the 1980s, including roles in Caddyshack, National Lampoon’s Vacation, and Fletch.

A Fresh Update on Chevy Chase

A CNN documentary titled I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not premiered on January 1, 2026. It revealed that Chase suffered a serious heart episode in 2021, developing cardiomyopathy and spending around eight days in a medically induced coma. He has since recovered but experiences ongoing memory gaps as a result.

Suzanne Chase has not been mentioned in connection with the documentary or any recent coverage of Chase’s life. Her absence from these updates continues the same pattern she has kept since 1976.

Conclusion

Suzanne Chase’s place in history rests entirely on three years spent married to a man before the world knew his name. She never gave an interview, never wrote a memoir, and never responded to the one account of their marriage that exists in print. Everything known about her connection to Chevy Chase still comes from his words alone.

Her decision to remain private, sustained for nearly fifty years, sets her apart from almost everyone else who has ever been linked to a major celebrity. While Chevy Chase built a public life around comedy, marriage, and family, Suzanne chose the opposite path entirely. That contrast is the whole of her public story, and it has not changed since 1976.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Suzanne Hewitt?

Suzanne Hewitt is the first wife of comedian Chevy Chase. They were married from 1973 to 1976.

How did Suzanne Hewitt meet Chevy Chase?

They met at a concert where Chase was performing with his band, Chameleon Church. He was 25, and she was 19.

Why did Suzanne Hewitt and Chevy Chase divorce?

Chase stated in his biography that Hewitt had an affair and left the marriage. She has never responded to this claim publicly.

Did Suzanne Hewitt and Chevy Chase have children?

No public record confirms any children from their marriage.

Is Suzanne Hewitt still alive?

No confirmed public information addresses her current status. She has not appeared in the public record since her divorce.

How many times has Chevy Chase been married?

Chase has been married three times, to Suzanne Hewitt, Jacqueline Carlin, and Jayni Luke Chase.