What years was Jill Biden's first marriage

1. The simple timeline: dates reported by major references

Contemporary encyclopedias and official biographical pages say Jill Biden married Bill Stevenson in 1970, separated in 1974 and divorced in 1975 (Encyclopaedia Britannica) ^[1]. Reuters’ fact check likewise cites the 1970–1975 span for that first marriage when correcting false claims about the Bidens’ early timeline ^[2]. Multiple profiles and news timelines repeat the same basic timeline and add that Jill met Joe Biden in 1975 and married him in June 1977 ^{[5] [4]}.

2. How consistent are the sources?

Major outlets in the provided results are consistent: Britannica, Reuters, People and the Biden Presidential Library all present the sequence—marriage to Stevenson around 1970, separation mid-decade, and marriage to Joe Biden in 1977 ^{[1] [2] [6] [4]}. Business Insider and People emphasize the 1977 Joe–Jill wedding date and note the couple’s first date in 1975 ^{[5] [7]}. The convergence across an encyclopedia, news fact-checker, People magazine and the official Biden library strengthens the basic chronology ^{[1] [2] [7] [4]}.

3. Points of dispute and why they arose

Disagreement in the public record centers less on the start/end years of Jill’s first marriage and more on claims from her ex-husband Bill Stevenson that Jill and Joe Biden had an affair before her divorce. Stevenson has asserted their relationship began while he was still married to her; Jill and her representatives have denied those claims and contemporary accounts and documented timelines maintain that Jill separated from Stevenson in fall 1974 and that her first date with Joe was in March 1975 ^{[8] [2] [5]}. Reuters specifically labels some social-media narratives about the chronology false while repeating the mainstream timeline ^[2].

4. What sources say about the separation vs. legal divorce

Profiles note a separation in 1974 and the legal end of the marriage in 1975; that distinction appears in multiple summaries ^{[1] [2]}. Inside Edition and other outlets quote Jill’s camp saying she moved out in fall 1974 and that the Joe–Jill relationship timeline is “well documented,” while Stevenson’s later claims aim to shift when the couple’s relationship began ^[8]. The sources supplied do not include court records or a copy of a divorce decree; they rely on reporting, statements and Jill Biden’s own account ^{[1] [8]}.

5. Why the chronology matters politically

Several items in the results show Stevenson revived his allegations during political cycles; outlets note he has publicly criticized the Bidens and made claims possibly timed to gain attention for commentary or books ^{[8] [9]}. Reuters’ fact-checking response and Jill Biden’s spokesman’s denial indicate that the dispute is a mix of personal history and political media friction rather than a settled legal controversy in the public record ^{[2] [8]}.

6. What available sources do not mention

Available sources do not mention court documents or primary legal filings that would show exact divorce decree dates beyond the widely reported 1975 year (not found in current reporting). They also do not provide contemporaneous private correspondence that would independently corroborate Stevenson’s claim that Jill and Joe had an affair before her separation (not found in current reporting).

7. Bottom line — what years was Jill Biden’s first marriage?

On the evidence in these sources, Jill Biden’s first marriage began in 1970 and ended in 1975 (separation in 1974, divorce 1975), and she met Joe Biden in 1975 before marrying him on June 17, 1977 ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}. Multiple mainstream sources and a Reuters fact-check present that chronology; competing personal claims by her ex-husband dispute the interpersonal timing but do not change the widely reported marriage and divorce years ^{[8] [9]}.