Key Takeaways
- Condoleezza Rice was once engaged to Rick Upchurch, a former NFL player.
- Rumors about Rice being a lesbian arose due to her long-term friendship with filmmaker Randy Bean.
- Rumors have circulated about her relationships with notable figures, including George W. Bush and Jack Straw.
Condoleezza Rice, who served as the 66th U.S. Secretary of State from 2005 to 2009, was never married and has no husband as of now. However, she was once engaged to Rick Upchurch, a professional American football player.
An American diplomat, political scientist, and Republican Party member, she served as the 19th U.S. National Security Advisor from 2001 to 2005 and is currently the director of Stanford University’s Hoover Institute.
Condoleezza, 69, being unmarried and having no husband, sparked rumors about whether she might be a lesbian, given that she co-owned a Palo Alto home with Randy Bean, a filmmaker, between 2003 and 2017.
However, they’re not lesbians, and they’ve been friends for over 25 years.
In a Quora thread, someone inquired:
Why is Condoleezza Rice never married?
In reply to this, one user commented:
Because she understands the words: “I am more than good enough”. And her awesome career and life is proof of that. Rice does not need marriage to validate her existence. More power to her.
Another user wrote:
It was her decision to accomplish what she wanted to do with her life. Getting married, having children & a family is not a goal or passion for every man & a women. People pursue their passion. CLR is a very accomplished lady & teaches at Stanford university.
On the topic of her personal life, a tweet from one user read:
Remember that time when Condoleezza rice accidentally called Bush her husband 🤣
During an interview in 2010, she was questioned: “Would you consider that you’ve lived a fulfilled life if you never get married or have kids?”
She said:
Yeah, I will. I won’t have kids [laughs] but I may still get married. But I would have lived a very fulfilled life if I had gotten married and had kids, too. But I’m very religious and I at some very deep level believe that things are going to work out as they’re supposed to. The key is to be open to that and to appreciate the life that you’ve been given.
Although Rice is currently single and focused on her career, she has had a few relationships in the past.
Exploring Condoleezza Rice’s Relationship History
In the 1970s, Condoleezza Rice had a relationship with Rick Upchurch and was engaged to him briefly.
Rick Upchurch, 72, is a former American football player who played wide receiver and return specialist in the NFL. He played his entire career with the Denver Broncos from 1975 to 1983.
The two met in 1975 through Condoleezza’s father, John Wesley Rice, who was assisting players in earning their degrees at the time.
Upchurch, recalling their first encounter, said:
It was a typical initial conversion: How you doing? It’s my pleasure to meet you.
In her 2010 memoir “Extraordinary, Ordinary People,” she referred to Upchurch as her boyfriend during the mid-1970s. After a year of dating, the two got engaged.
Their dating ended as life, still in its early years for each of them, took them down different paths.
Upchurch said:
She went on to do something in Washington and got started with her career.
Rice decided to leave him because her biographer Marcus Mabry stated, “She knew the relationship wasn’t going to work.” She later wrote:
Our relationship ended gently and we remained friends.
She prioritized choosing the path that aligned with her life and career aspirations.
Even though she was briefly engaged to football player Rick Upchurch in the 1970s, she never walked down the aisle, and Rick did not become her husband.
After her brief relationship with Rick Upchurch, there was speculation that she was involved with Canadian politician Peter MacKay from 2006 to 2011.
In September 2006, Condoleezza and Peter participated in a commemoration held in Nova Scotia.
The next morning, MacKay mentioned that Rice had slept with the window open, sparking speculation that they may have spent the night together. Neither of them disclosed anything about their relationship.
Likewise, Rice was rumored to have dated George W. Bush, the 43rd U.S. President, Jack Straw, the former British foreign minister, and Massimo D’Alema, the former Italian foreign minister.
Despite the rumored suitors, Rice remains unmarried and has never officially confirmed any relationship.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Born on November 14, 1954, in Birmingham, Alabama, Condoleezza is the only child of Angelena (née Ray) Rice, a high school teacher, and John Wesley Rice Jr., a high school guidance counselor.
- She earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Denver and her master’s degree in the same field from the University of Notre Dame. In 1981, she received a PhD from the School of International Studies at the University of Denver.
- She was the first female African-American secretary of state and the first woman to serve as national security advisor.
