Who Is Katie Couric's Husband? All About John Molner

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty

Katie Courichas been a household name for decades as a famed anchorwoman.

She’s an author, a mother, a hard-hitting journalist and an advocate for colon health. She lost her first husband, Jay Monahan, to colon cancer in 1998 and has opened up about the loss duringcountless interviewsand in her 2021 memoir,Going There.

On the couple’s eighth wedding anniversary in 2022,Couric was diagnosed with breast cancer. She later revealed the diagnosis in a personal essay published in September 2022 and also shared that Molner “had a tumor the size of a coconut on his liver” removed just a few months before their 2014 wedding.

“I justfeel super luckythat it was diagnosed when it was,” Couric said on theTodayshow. The journalist had a lumpectomy to remove an olive-sized tumor in July 2022 and began radiation two months later.

She previously told PEOPLE, “Cancer has had a huge impact on me personally, having lost my husband, Jay, in 1998 from colon cancer and my sister, Emily, two years later from pancreatic cancer. I think the most powerless feeling you have is not being able to help someone you love conquer this disease.”

So. who is Katie Couric’s husband and support system, John Molner? Here is everything to know about the businessman.

He met Couric in 2012

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Couric and Molner wereset up in 2012after Couric asked a friend if she knew any single doctors.

“In 2012 I was single, again, and I asked a friend of mine, Molly, who’s husband is a trauma surgeon, if her husband knew any other doctors because I thought I’d like to go out with a doctor,” Couric told PEOPLEin 2018.

While Molly said no doctors she knew were on the market, she did suggest a certain banker and passed Couric’s number along. Molner eventually gave Couric a call and asked her out. Couric later told PEOPLE, “What can I say, he had me at hello.”

He and Couric wed in 2014

John Molner Instagram

Molner popped the question at the beach over Labor Day weekend in 2013 andthe two got marriedduring an intimate backyard wedding at Couric’s East Hampton, New York, home on June 21, 2014.

The couple had their children take part in the ceremony: Molner’s kids, Allie and Henry, recited readings from E. E. Cummings and Maya Angelou; Couric’s daughter,Ellie, read a love letter from Woodrow Wilson to his wife; and her other daughter, Carrie, sang the Beatles' “I Will.”

The formerTodayanchor toldSavannah Guthrieduring a2014Todayshowappearancethat Molner planned most of the wedding.

“It was very very intimate and special,” Couric said. “I hate to be shallow but the weather was perfect and the garden — it was in our backyard — and the garden looked beautiful. We had these incredible dahlias all over the place. It was just perfect.”

Couric and Molner celebrated nine years of marriage in June 2023. “Lucky, lucky me,” the journalist captioned a montage of photos with her husband onInstagram.

In a separateInstagrampost, Molner wrote: “9 years! What an adventure. I’m lucky to have you in my life! Where to next?”

He worked in finance

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Molner earned a bachelor’s degree from Trinity College and a master’s in business administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. He went on to work withBrown Brothers Harrimanfor over 32 years, before retiring in 2014, and now serves as a senior advisor to the financial firm.

In 2018, Molner and Couric co-founded Katie Couric Media, with Molner as CEO.

“I’ve worked at so many different networks and in so many different jobs and I think in this day and age, there’s so much content out there, so much information 24/7, and you’re just inundated with that. And there’s a lot of misinformation out there. … So I said ‘I want to create a media company,’ “Couric told Kelly Clarksonduring a 2022 appearance onThe Kelly Clarkson Show.“And I’m doing it with my husband John. He’s the CEO because I’m the more creative person — he’s a strong, smart, businessman.”

He’s a father

The banker has two children from a previous marriage, son Henry and daughter Allie.

On Jan. 11, 2022, Molnerposted a sweet birthday tributeto his son Henry along with a photo of the two captioned, “Happy birthday, Hammer. I can’t believe you’re 27 and anyone who looks at the story post alongside this - with a redacted picture of Henry’s drivers license - will also question whether he’s really 27. But he is indeed! Proud of you, Ham. Big thanks to the awesome team @barbutonyc for making this celebration so special.”

On Feb. 16, 2022, the proud dadposted a photoof him and his daughter Allie to Instagram with the caption, “Cheers to 24! Xoxo.”

His perfect weekend includes reading and cooking

In a feature forKatie Couric Media’s “Weekend Whats” seriesin 2020, Molner revealed some of his favorite weekend activities at the time.

His perfect weekend meal was Jonathan Waxman’s spaghetti carbonara from his cookbook,The Barbuto Cookbook.And the financier also shared a podcast suggestion, admitting he is an “armcherry” and lovesDax Shepherd’sArmchair Expert.

He supported Couric in writing her memoir

Molneropened up in an interviewwith Katie Couric Media about what the process was like when his wife was penning her memoir,Going There.Although Molner considers himself a private guy, he was enthusiastic about Couric’s memoir.

“Idothink of myself as a private person. But Katie’s a public figure, and she likes to share her life. I did have some concerns about what she was going to share,” he said. “But I also thought that for her to write an important book, she had to be willing to be authentic about her journey. And that’s what she’s done. There’s no point in writing a book like this unless you’re ready to be honest with yourself. And I think she absolutely did that.”

He went on to say that he’s proud of Couric and proud to be part of her life, a character in her memoir and on her Instagram from time to time.

He loves to golf

He is an avid golfer. Not only did he admit that while Couric was writing her memoir, he’d dip out to golf to give her the creative space she needed, but his Instagram feed is extremely golf-centric.

For his birthday in 2020, he visited Emerald Dunes Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida. Molnershared a shotof him and his friends on the course with the caption, “For my birthday my friend Josh made an albatross (2) on the par 5 11th hole. Odds of this— less than one in a million! Driver and 225-yard 3-metal. In the hole… and he dedicated the shot to me for my birthday. He also claimed $20 in beating me in this match. Thanks Josh!”

And in September 2021,he posted a funny photoof himself on Instagram at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Briarcliff Manor, New York, laying on the grass, arms flailed out to the side, and his feet up on the bench with the caption, “Skins at Sleepy. I’m tired. But I also have 5 skins.” (Skins is a game played during golf in which players compete for a prize or money on every hole and each hole has a set value. The winnings are called skins.)

He is funny, according to Couric

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Couric told PEOPLEin May 2018,“John is so funny, he’s just got this incredibly dry and wry sense of humor, and he doesn’t take himself too seriously. He’s just really good company.”

He and Couric attended the 2023 US Open

Matthew Stockman/Getty

The couple were in the stands on opening night of the2023 US Openin New York City. Couric wore a chic floral dress, while Molner looked handsome in a grey plaid suit. Throughout the evening, they mingled with a slew of celebrities, includingLindsey VonnandDanny DeVito. Couric called the outing a “wonderful night of tennis and friendship” onInstagram.

He and Couric are grandparents

Katie Couric/Instagram

In December 2023, Couric announced that her eldest daughter, Ellie Monahan — whom she welcomed with her late husband — wasexpecting her first child.

Monahan and her husband, Mark Dobrosky, welcomed a son,John Albert, on March 23, 2024. Couric shared the special news on Instagram, writing, “He will be called Jay in honor of his maternal grandfather. I am thrilled to have my first grandchild. Molner is enjoying handing out cigars. We feel so blessed.”

source: people.com