Kathryn Burrhus is best known as the first wife of Stone Cold Steve Austin, the professional wrestling legend. She was his high school sweetheart in Edna, Texas, long before he became famous. They married on 24 November 1990 and divorced on 7 August 1992, a marriage of less than two years that ended before Austin’s rise to global fame. Since then, Kathryn has lived a fully private life. She has given no interviews, she has no public career, and she has stayed out of the spotlight for more than three decades.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Kathryn Burrhus (also called Kathy in some sources) |
| Known as | First wife of Stone Cold Steve Austin |
| Marriage | Married Steve Austin on 24 November 1990; divorced on 7 August 1992 |
| Children with Austin | None publicly known |
| Birth date | Not publicly confirmed |
| Birthplace | Texas, USA |
| Public presence | None; no known public social media accounts or interviews |
| Current status | Private life, away from media |
Who Is Kathryn Burrhus?
Kathryn Burrhus is a private individual whose name is known only because of her brief marriage to Steve Austin. Austin, born Steven James Anderson on 18 December 1964, went on to become one of the most famous professional wrestlers in history under the name Stone Cold Steve Austin. Kathryn knew him before any of that, when he was still a Texas schoolboy with no clear direction and no ring name.
Unlike Austin’s later wives, who spent time in the public eye through wrestling television, Kathryn belongs entirely to his pre-fame chapter. Her story is short in public records and long in silence: a high school romance, a young marriage, a divorce, and then a deliberate disappearance from public view. That privacy is the most consistent fact about her adult life.
High School Sweethearts in Edna, Texas
Kathryn met Steve Austin at Edna High School in Edna, Texas. Austin has written that he met her while he was a freshman and she was a junior, which makes her roughly one to two years older than him. Their bond formed before wrestling, before television, and before fame, in a small Texas town where Austin played football and dreamed without a plan.
Austin spent most of his childhood in Edna after his mother moved the family there. He attended Edna High School, earned a football scholarship to Wharton County Junior College, and then a full scholarship to the University of North Texas. Kathryn was part of the chapter before all of that took shape, the school-days relationship that lasted into young adulthood and survived Austin’s early attempts to find his way.
Marriage to Steve Austin
Kathryn Burrhus married Steve Austin on 24 November 1990. At the time, Austin was at the very start of his wrestling career. He had made his professional debut in September 1989 in World Class Championship Wrestling, trained by Chris Adams, and he was still years away from the fame that would define him. The marriage lasted less than two years, ending in divorce on 7 August 1992.
The timing matters for understanding Kathryn’s story. Their marriage coincided with Austin’s hardest early grind, not his success. He joined World Championship Wrestling in 1991 as “Stunning” Steve Austin, but the Stone Cold character, the “Austin 3:16” phenomenon, and the WWE superstardom all came later, after the marriage had already ended. Kathryn was never part of his television fame, and she has never appeared in wrestling programming.
The reason for the divorce is not publicly documented. No reliable public source gives a verified explanation for why the marriage ended, and neither Kathryn nor Austin has publicly discussed it in detail. What is firmly established is the timeline: married on 24 November 1990, divorced on 7 August 1992. They had no children together as far as any public record shows.
Steve Austin’s Rise After the Divorce
Because readers often confuse the details of Austin’s later life with Kathryn’s story, the distinction is worth stating plainly. Everything that made Austin famous happened after his marriage to Kathryn had ended.
After a brief stint in Extreme Championship Wrestling in late 1995, Austin signed with the World Wrestling Federation in 1995 as The Ringmaster. In 1996, he was repackaged as “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, and his “Austin 3:16” speech after winning the King of the Ring tournament that year launched him into mainstream fame. He became the poster boy of the Attitude Era, won the WWF Championship six times, won the Royal Rumble in 1997, 1998, and 2001, and headlined three WrestleManias. He retired from in-ring competition on 30 March 2003 and was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2009.
Austin married three more times after Kathryn: Jeanie Clarke in 1992 (divorced 1999), Debra Marshall in 2000 (divorced 2003), and Kristin Feres in 2009. He has three children. None of these later chapters involve Kathryn, whose part in his life had closed years before his fame began.
Life After Divorce
After her divorce from Steve Austin in 1992, Kathryn Burrhus chose a life of complete privacy. She did not seek media attention, she did not discuss her former marriage publicly, and she did not build any public career from her connection to a famous ex-husband. There is no public record of a remarriage, a public profession, or any public statements by her since the divorce.
That silence has lasted more than 30 years. In an era when former celebrity spouses often write books, give interviews, or build social media followings, Kathryn has done none of these things. Her life after divorce is, by every available account, an ordinary private life, and that choice deserves the same respect in writing as it has received in fact.
What Is Known and What Is Not Public
| Known and confirmed | Not public |
|---|---|
| First wife of Steve Austin, his high school sweetheart | Her birth date (sources conflict, so none is repeated here) |
| Met Austin at Edna High School, Texas | Her height, weight, or net worth (online figures are speculation) |
| Married 24 November 1990; divorced 7 August 1992 | Her parents, siblings, or family background |
| No children with Austin publicly known | Any remarriage or children after divorce |
| No public career, interviews, or social media presence | The reason for her divorce |
| Austin’s fame came after the marriage ended | Her current address or private contact details |
Kathryn Burrhus has lived most of her adult life outside the spotlight, and much of her private life has stayed private. The facts above are the ones confirmed across reliable reports and public records. Details that circulate on gossip and biography-farm sites, such as her birth date, her height, or her net worth, are not confirmed by reliable sources and are left out here. Claims about why the marriage ended are also unconfirmed and are not repeated.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Kathryn Burrhus?
Kathryn Burrhus is the first wife of Stone Cold Steve Austin, the professional wrestling legend. She was his high school sweetheart in Edna, Texas, and they were married from 1990 to 1992, before Austin became famous. She has lived a private life ever since.
When did Kathryn Burrhus marry Steve Austin?
Kathryn married Steve Austin on 24 November 1990. Their divorce was finalized on 7 August 1992, less than two years later. The marriage ended before Austin’s Stone Cold fame began.
How did Kathryn Burrhus meet Steve Austin?
They met at Edna High School in Edna, Texas. Austin has written that he met her while he was a freshman and she was a junior. Their relationship began as a high school romance and lasted into young adulthood.
Did Kathryn Burrhus and Steve Austin have children?
No children from their marriage are publicly known. Austin later had three children through his later relationships, but none of those children are Kathryn’s.
Why did Kathryn Burrhus and Steve Austin divorce?
The reason for the divorce is not publicly documented. No reliable source gives a verified explanation, and neither Kathryn nor Austin has publicly discussed it in detail. Claims found on gossip sites are unconfirmed and are not repeated here.
Where is Kathryn Burrhus now?
Her current life is private and not publicly documented. She has no known public social media presence, she has given no interviews, and she has not sought attention through her connection to Steve Austin. She has kept her life out of public view for more than 30 years since the divorce.
Conclusion
Kathryn Burrhus’s story is a short marriage followed by a long, quiet life. She met Steve Austin at Edna High School, married him on 24 November 1990, and divorced him on 7 August 1992, before the world knew the name Stone Cold. She had no children with him, she has not sought fame through his name, and she has kept her private life out of public view for more than three decades. In a wrestling story full of noise, hers is the chapter defined by discretion, and that discretion is respected here by reporting only what is confirmed and leaving the rest private.
