Leslie Roy Moonves, Julie Chen’s Husband: Who Is the ‘Big Brother’ Host Married To?

Julie Chen is the longtime host of Big Brother and she is also a producer for the network it airs on, CBS. Her husband Leslie Roy Moonves also works for the network, as the Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer of CBS Corporation. Both are big successes in the entertainment industry, as The Richest reports Moonves has an estimated net worth of $300 million, while Chen’s wealth is estimated at $16 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

Prior to meeting Chen, Moonves married his ex-wife Nancy Wiesenfeld in 1978. The couple had three children together before divorcing in 2004. That same year, Moonves began dating Chen, who was a reporter on The Early Show at the time. It was a matter of a few weeks later that Moonves married Chen in Mexico and in 2009, Chen gave birth to their son, Charlie Moonves, according to Reality TV World. In an interview with the NY Daily News at the time, Wiesenfeld implied that her ex had something going on with Chen while they were married. Wiesenfeld stated that:

I don’t want to see [Chen]. It’s not healthy for me or my kids … I felt that everybody knew about what was going on [between Moonves and Chen]. And everybody did know. Except me.

The Associated Press reported that Chen wore a Reem Acra designer dress at her wedding and just 30 people were in attendance. The wedding took place at a private home and the couple honeymooned at Cabo San Lucas’ Las Ventanas resort. Before Chen started dating Moonves, she was in a longterm relationship with television news editor Gary Donahue.

When it comes to Chen’s involvement with Big Brother, she actually owes a thank you to her husband. Moonves told Buzzfeed that:

When we were putting together Big Brother, I said, ‘If we could find somebody who has a real credibility, like a newsperson, that suddenly gives the show much more cache.’ I did say, ‘How about Julie Chen? She’s young, she’s pretty, she’s hip, and she’s a newsperson. I don’t know if she wants to do it’ — because I didn’t even know her at the time. I just knew her as somebody working at CBS News.

Chen chimed in and admitted that her husband also said the job had been offered to someone else first. Chen revealed:

My husband did say that the person they did want was Meredith Vieira, but she turned it down. That would have been good if they could have gotten her.

Moonves maintains that Chen is the face of Big Brother. He said that she has a unique ability to connect with the audience, explaining that:

She’s unbelievably accessible, very smart, and delivers a great deal of trust, yet you feel like she could be your friend. She’s someone you want to hang out with.

Chen dives into the celebrity edition of Big Brother and this is the first edition of its kind in the USA. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Chen said that whether or not the show will return with another celebrity cast will be determined by ratings. But, the show is going up against broadcasts of the Winter Olympics, so that’s pretty steep competition.

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