Curtis Sliwa, the outspoken founder of the Guardian Angels and perennial New York political figure, has a personal life as dramatic and headline-grabbing as his public career. As of December 15, 2025, his tumultuous romantic journey spans four marriages, three divorces, and a handful of political scandals that rocked New York City. While he is currently married to his fourth wife, Nancy, public curiosity often circles back to the women who shared his life during his rise to fame: his three former wives.
The lives of Sliwa’s ex-wives—Koren Drayton, Lisa Evers, and Mary Galda—are a fascinating study in their own right, with one becoming a two-time Emmy-winning journalist and another moving on to marry a former New York Governor. This is a deep dive into the biography of each woman and the surprising new chapters they have written since their respective divorces from the controversial radio host.
A Complete Look at Curtis Sliwa's Wives and Ex-Wives
Curtis Sliwa’s marital history is a complex timeline, often intertwined with the history of the Guardian Angels and his political aspirations. He has been married four times, with three of his wives also serving as key figures or directors within the Guardian Angels organization.
- First Wife: Koren Drayton
- Marriage Date: 1975
- Divorce Date: 1976
- Role in Public Life: Little public information is available; the marriage was brief.
- Children: None known from this marriage.
- Second Wife: Lisa Evers (née Lisa Sliwa)
- Marriage Date: Christmas Eve 1981
- Divorce Date: 1994
- Role in Public Life: National Director of the Guardian Angels; Radio co-host; TV Personality.
- Children: None known from this marriage.
- Third Wife: Mary Galda (née Mary Sliwa, Mary Paterson)
- Marriage Date: 2000
- Divorce Date: 2012
- Role in Public Life: Executive Director of the Guardian Angels; WABC employee; Figure in a high-profile political scandal.
- Children: One son, Anthony Sliwa.
- Current Wife: Nancy Regula (née Nancy Sliwa)
- Marriage Date: 2018
- Role in Public Life: Animal welfare advocate; Political campaigner.
- Children: None known from this marriage.
The Second Wife: Lisa Evers' Two-Time Emmy-Winning Career
The most recognizable of Sliwa's ex-wives to many New Yorkers is Lisa Evers, a formidable martial arts expert who served as the National Director of the Guardian Angels during her marriage to Sliwa. Their relationship was a power-couple pairing of the 1980s, often appearing together in media related to the Angels.
However, since their divorce in 1994, Lisa Evers has forged an incredibly successful and independent career that has eclipsed her former husband's media presence.
Lisa Evers' Current Status: A Media Powerhouse
Today, Lisa Evers is a highly respected, two-time Emmy Award-winning television journalist. She works as a general assignment reporter for WNYW-TV/FOX 5 News, regularly covering breaking news and hard topics across New York City.
Evers is also the host of the long-running, influential television and radio show, "Street Soldiers with Lisa Evers." The program, which focuses on community issues, youth culture, and conflict resolution, has been a staple in New York media for decades. Her success demonstrates a clear trajectory away from the Guardian Angels' shadow and into a prominent, authoritative role in journalism.
The Third Wife: Mary Galda and the Scandalous Political Affair
Curtis Sliwa’s third marriage to Mary Galda (sometimes referred to as Mary Paterson after her subsequent marriage) was the source of his most public and explosive personal scandal. Mary, a former WABC employee and Executive Director of the Guardian Angels, married Sliwa in 2000, and they had one son, Anthony Sliwa.
The marriage ended in a bitter divorce in 2012, which quickly became a media spectacle. Mary Sliwa filed court documents alleging that her husband had been involved in a long-term romantic affair with Queens Borough President Melinda Katz.
The Melinda Katz Affair and Secret Children
The scandal deepened when Sliwa publicly admitted that he had fathered two children with Melinda Katz while still married to Mary Galda. Sliwa, a Catholic, revealed that he was living with Katz and their two children, and that he planned to raise the children in the Jewish faith. This revelation not only confirmed the affair but also introduced a "secret family" element that dominated New York political and gossip columns for months. The divorce proceedings were further complicated by legal disputes over intercepted emails and child support checks.
Mary Galda's New Chapter: Marrying a Former Governor
The most recent and surprising update regarding Mary Galda, however, is her own high-profile marriage. Following her divorce from Sliwa and the subsequent media circus, Mary Galda married former New York Governor David Paterson in 2019. This union, which took place years after her split from the Guardian Angels founder, firmly placed her back in the sphere of New York's political elite, albeit in a new, less controversial capacity.
The First Wife: Koren Drayton and the Elusive Past
Curtis Sliwa's first marriage to Koren Drayton is the least documented of his four unions. They wed in 1975, but the marriage was incredibly brief, dissolving just one year later in 1976.
Koren Drayton's Public Profile
Unlike Lisa Evers and Mary Galda, who were both prominent figures within the Guardian Angels and New York media, Koren Drayton maintained a very low public profile. The few details available confirm that she is of Caribbean-American descent. Her short marriage predated Sliwa's major surge in fame with the Guardian Angels, which he founded in 1977. Consequently, the details of their relationship and her life post-divorce remain largely private, a stark contrast to the highly publicized lives of Sliwa's subsequent wives.
Topical Authority: The Sliwa-Guardian Angels-Wife Connection
A notable pattern emerges when examining Curtis Sliwa's marriage history: a strong connection between his romantic partners and the Guardian Angels. Both his second wife, Lisa Evers, and his third wife, Mary Galda, served as the National or Executive Director of the organization. This consistent overlap suggests that Sliwa’s personal and professional lives were deeply intertwined for decades, with his wives often serving as key operational leaders in the organization he founded.
His current wife, Nancy Regula (now Nancy Sliwa), while not a Guardian Angels director, is also deeply involved in his public life, particularly in his political campaigns and his advocacy for animal welfare. She was a prominent figure during his 2021 New York City mayoral campaign, continuing the tradition of his partners having a public, supportive role in his controversial career.
From the Emmy-winning journalist to the new wife of a former Governor, the stories of Curtis Sliwa's ex-wives are far more than footnotes in his biography. They are compelling narratives of strong women who have carved out significant, independent lives, often navigating the intense media scrutiny that comes with being linked to one of New York's most enduring and controversial public figures.
Detail Author:
- Name : Verona Crooks
- Username : conroy.eleanora
- Email : danika.zemlak@gmail.com
- Birthdate : 1976-12-26
- Address : 80293 Claudie Trail Ratkebury, CT 83676-7787
- Phone : 1-443-887-9116
- Company : Swaniawski and Sons
- Job : Legal Secretary
- Bio : Distinctio quis odit dicta voluptas et. Cum dolorum alias voluptatem et aut. Deleniti dolor quia libero maxime.
Socials
twitter:
- url : https://twitter.com/rheaturner
- username : rheaturner
- bio : Assumenda quas enim ducimus distinctio labore quo architecto. Qui eos quibusdam officia et odit sed accusamus. Similique ducimus dolores consequatur.
- followers : 2563
- following : 852
facebook:
- url : https://facebook.com/rhea_official
- username : rhea_official
- bio : Neque commodi quis sint quia id asperiores sed voluptatem.
- followers : 5945
- following : 165
linkedin:
- url : https://linkedin.com/in/rhea2514
- username : rhea2514
- bio : Non est et iusto quidem.
- followers : 4941
- following : 2234