Anna Nicole Smith’s First Husband Billy Wayne Smith: Marriage, Divorce, and What Happened After

Anna Nicole Smith’s first husband was Billy Wayne Smith. They married when she was still a teenager, long before she became a worldwide tabloid fixture and pop-culture icon. Their relationship is most often discussed as the “before fame” chapter of her life—early adulthood, early motherhood, and a marriage that ended years before her most publicized relationships.

Who Was Anna Nicole Smith?

Anna Nicole Smith (born Vickie Lynn Hogan) was an American model, actress, and reality TV personality who became famous in the early 1990s. She gained major attention through modeling work, including high-profile campaigns and magazine features, then expanded into entertainment with acting roles and later a reality show that turned her personal life into headline-driven television.

Over time, her fame shifted from modeling success to relentless tabloid coverage—especially surrounding her relationships, legal battles, and family life. She was often portrayed as larger-than-life, but her story also included real instability: financial pressures, intense public scrutiny, and personal tragedies that shaped how her life unfolded in the public eye.

Who Was Anna Nicole’s First Husband?

Anna Nicole’s first husband was Billy Wayne Smith. He was not a celebrity, and most widely known details about him exist because of his connection to Anna Nicole’s early life. Their marriage occurred when she was still using her birth name and living a far more ordinary life than the one the public later associated with her.

In other words, Billy Wayne Smith isn’t famous for his own public career. He’s remembered because he was there at the beginning—before the modeling breakthrough, before the intense media attention, and before her later marriages became national conversation.

When Did Anna Nicole Smith and Billy Wayne Smith Get Married?

Anna Nicole Smith and Billy Wayne Smith married in 1985. She was very young at the time—still a teenager—and the marriage is often described as part of her early attempt at building stability and adult life quickly. They stayed married for several years, but the relationship eventually ended.

Because her later life is so heavily documented and dramatized, people sometimes assume her first marriage was short and “forgotten.” In reality, it lasted long enough to include a major, life-defining milestone: becoming a mother.

Did Anna Nicole Have Children With Her First Husband?

Yes. Anna Nicole and Billy Wayne Smith had a son together, Daniel Wayne Smith, born in 1986. Daniel remained one of the most emotionally central figures in Anna Nicole’s life. Even as fame, money, and controversy swirled around her, she frequently positioned motherhood—and her bond with Daniel—as something real in a world that often felt performative.

Daniel later became part of the public narrative surrounding Anna Nicole, not because he sought attention, but because her fame made almost everything in her life “public property.” His name and presence show up in nearly every major biography of Anna Nicole because he wasn’t a footnote—he was part of her identity.

When Did They Divorce?

Anna Nicole Smith and Billy Wayne Smith divorced in 1993. By that point, her life was already moving in a different direction, and she was stepping into the version of herself the public would eventually know: ambitious, image-driven, and increasingly connected to the worlds of modeling and celebrity culture.

The divorce is often treated as a dividing line. Before: small-town beginnings, early marriage, early motherhood. After: rapid transformation, rising fame, and the relationships that would later dominate headlines.

What Was Their Relationship Like?

Public accounts generally describe the marriage as troubled, though the level of detail varies depending on the source. Because Billy Wayne Smith was not a public figure, and because Anna Nicole’s later fame became so overwhelming, much of what people “know” about their relationship is filtered through retrospective storytelling—biographies, interviews, and summaries written long after the marriage ended.

The most consistent, grounded approach is to stick with what’s clear: they married young, had a child, and eventually separated and divorced. Beyond that, many of the more dramatic claims about what happened inside the relationship tend to be repeated in broad strokes rather than supported by detailed, consistent public documentation.

What Happened to Billy Wayne Smith After the Divorce?

Billy Wayne Smith remained largely out of the public spotlight after their divorce. That’s one reason information about him can feel thin compared to Anna Nicole’s very public later life. When one person becomes a global celebrity and the other stays private, the public record becomes lopsided: the celebrity’s story is told everywhere, while the private person’s life is mostly background context.

Because of that, you’ll often see the same core facts repeated about Billy: his name, the marriage, their son, and the divorce. Anything beyond that is usually either lightly sourced or presented as anecdote rather than confirmed biography.

How This First Marriage Fits Into Anna Nicole’s Bigger Story

Anna Nicole’s first marriage matters because it shows how early adulthood shaped her. She became a wife and mother very young, in circumstances far removed from the celebrity world she later entered. That early responsibility—especially motherhood—didn’t disappear when fame arrived. Instead, it became part of the tension of her public life: trying to hold onto something personal and real while living inside a media machine that monetized her every move.

Later, Anna Nicole married again and became globally known for relationships that drew intense public attention. But her first marriage is still the origin point for the part of her life that many people consider her most human: being a young mother trying to build a life before the cameras showed up.

Quick Summary

• Anna Nicole Smith’s first husband was Billy Wayne Smith.
• They married in 1985 when she was a teenager.
• They had a son together, Daniel Wayne Smith (born 1986).
• They divorced in 1993, years before her most famous relationships.