The actress frequently talks about how much she ‘loves’ her daughter Jacqueline Dena Guber and has referred to her as the ‘apple of her eye.’
When Walters adopted Jacqueline when she was a little child, she was at the height of her professional success, and the day Jacqueline entered her life, everything changed.
Walters then experienced a complete love-hate relationship with her kid in the days and months that followed, and it has never ended. Of course, there have been a few rough patches in their relationship as Jacqueline learned to dislike her mom’s fame and Walters occasionally had to choose her career.
JACQUELINE GUBER, WHO IS SHE?
After five years of marriage, Walters and Lee Guber made the decision to adopt more children. The adoptive kid was given the name Jacqueline in honor of Walters’ sister when she was born in June 1968.
They made no announcements and kept everything quiet. Later, Walters would admit that part of the reason was that she did not want the child’s original mother to find out that they had adopted the child.
UPBRIDGE OF JACQUELINE DENA GUBER
When she was a teenager, Barbara Walters’ daughter went through a highly rebellious phase, skipping class to get into Studio 54, one of the most famous dance clubs at the time, when she was just 13 years old.
What led to Jackie’s period of disobedience? She felt uncomfortable there. Jackie admitted to Jane Pauley in a 2002 interview that she never felt like she belonged in her mother’s world.
Even worse, at the age of 12, she was significantly taller (six feet) than her classmates. As an adopted kid, Jackie acknowledged that she questioned why her biological family abandoned her, which contributed to her rebellious phase.
She felt like an outcast and believed that a maid would be easier to relate to than the students at her ‘exclusive private school,’ according to Walters’ daughter. While her daughter was evaporating, Walters continued to work.
Jackie vanished for a full month when she was 15 years old. She assumed that by fleeing, all of her issues would be resolved, so she hitchhiked 800 miles with a ‘man’ she met on the street. Walters decided to send Jackie to an Idaho intervention program rather than bring her home.
WHO IS THE FATHER OF JACQUELINE DENA GUBER?
Following the dissolution of her first marriage to Robert Henry Katz, Walters rekindled her romance with theater mogul Lee Guber, and the two were united in marriage in 1963.
Guber established the Westbury Music Fair and made it possible for Broadway shows to be performed in theaters and music halls around the nation. He produced a number of Broadway productions while he was still working, including ‘The King and I,’ ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ ‘Gypsy,’ and ‘I Do! I Do!’
In his lifespan, Guber was married three times. His 13-year marriage to Walters ended in divorce in 1976. The gifted guy died in 1988 at the age of 67 from brain cancer.
JACKIE’S RESISTANT STAGE
From the outside, people might think that having famous parents is the best thing ever. Jackie, however, experienced the exact opposite. Once, Walters said:
Jackie has struggled her entire life because she prefers to remain anonymous and does not enjoy becoming a star.
Her mother did not immediately notify the police once she fled and her mother learned about it. Most parents would have immediately dialed 911, but Walters chose not to.
She wasn’t sure what Jackie could do, so she didn’t want ‘the headlines’ for her kid. Walters disclosed:
‘I was surprised when I initially learned of everything she had done. Jackie is also quite honest. I occasionally consider wishing I didn’t know.’
Jacqueline Dena Guber acknowledged using drugs as a teenager because they made her feel better but didn’t solve the genuine problems she was facing.
BECOMING BETTER
The ‘man’ called Walters a month after leaving home after discovering her phone number in Jackie’s wallet. The TV personality then sent her daughter a former Green Beret. Barbara Walters sent Jackie to an Idaho intervention program rather than taking her home. Jackie spent three years there and believes the program saved her life.
Jackie has largely avoided the drama since that time. She was pulled over in 2013 for a DUI, but she was so uncontrollable that someone had to ‘push her to the ground’ to stop her from crashing into oncoming traffic.
In a 2014 interview, Walters admitted that despite her busy work, she cherished Jackie and wished she had spent more time with her. Barbara Walters and Jacqueline Dena Guber now get along much better. Jackie still chooses to live her life in the background.
TO HELP OTHERS, JACQUELINE DENA GUBER CHANGED HER LIFE.
Jacqueline continued to lead a secluded life even after getting her affairs in order, thus nothing is known about her daily activities.
She has reportedly been married twice, though. Her first marriage took place in the Inn at Semiahmoo with a guy by the name of Scott Pontius, a wealthy local family’s son.
The celebration took place at the inn, and the wedding was held on a dock above the water. Star-studded attendees at the affair included David Letterman and Ivana Trump.
Pontius and 29-year-old Jacqueline first met when she was a Riverton Hospital receptionist. When she moved into a house with a view of Puget Sound that was close to Pontius’ parents, Bill and Ruby Pontius, who owned a beachfront home, they happened to run into one other.
Following the breakdown of that marriage, Jacqueline fell in love once more with Mark Danforth, a licensed Maine guide. Although they were married in 2001, not much is known about them.
Although it is uncertain if they are still together, it is well known that Jacqueline does not want to have children or be a parent.
Therefore, Walters, who has long desired grandchildren, will not have any. Nevertheless, the proud mother applauds modern society for not forcing women to bear or rear children when they don’t want to and supports her daughter’s decision to forgo having children.
Jacqueline currently oversees a teen wilderness therapy camp in Maine. It was started as a result of what she experienced as a young woman in the hopes that she could assist other children in improving as she did.
Jacqueline is content because she loves what she does and considers the females she caters to as her children, according to Barbara Walters. Her six to nine-week rehabilitation camp costs between $20,000 and $30,000.
The girls are given program-issued clothing, such as socks, underwear, and swimsuits, as soon as they arrive on site.
They are then stripped of their belongings, including their jewelry, clothing, and accessories. According to reports, this was done to deter competition and inspire the girls to seek within.
There are no radios or TVs in the camp. The girls sing to create music because they lack any tools for telling the time or vanity-enhancing mirrors. Jacqueline and her daughters are frequently observed canoeing and engaging in other outdoor activities during the summer. They hike with backpacks and frequently camp along the Appalachian Trail in the spring and fall.