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Jayne Posner is an American educator born in 1940 who married singer Neil Diamond in 1963. They divorced in 1969 after six years of marriage. She has two daughters with Diamond and has maintained a private life since the divorce, avoiding media attention entirely.
Jayne Posner was born in 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, into a Jewish-American family during the post-war era. She grew up in a typical Brooklyn neighborhood and attended Abraham Lincoln High School, where she would eventually meet her future husband.
Unlike many connected to celebrities, Jayne chose education as her career path. She became a schoolteacher in New York, a profession she had maintained before, during, and likely after her marriage to Neil Diamond. Her dedication to teaching reflected a grounded, service-focused character that stood in sharp contrast to the entertainment world she would briefly enter.
Her upbringing in Brooklyn’s tight-knit community shaped her values. She preferred stability and privacy over attention—traits that would define her entire adult life.
Jayne met Neil Diamond while they were both students at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn. Their relationship began in the late 1950s, when Neil was just another teenager on the fencing team with dreams of becoming a writer. They started dating around 1958 and maintained their relationship through their college years.
In 1963, after about five years of being together, they got married. The wedding was small and modest—nothing like the celebrity affairs that would later surround Neil’s life. At the time, Neil was a struggling songwriter trying to get his foot in the door of the music industry. He hadn’t signed any major deals and was far from the international star he would become.
Jayne worked as a schoolteacher to support them financially. Her steady income allowed Neil to pursue his musical ambitions without the immediate pressure of needing commercial success. She believed in his talent when few others did, providing emotional support during years of rejection and near-misses.
The mid-1960s brought significant changes. Neil’s career began to gain traction as he secured songwriting contracts and started recording his own material. By 1965, the couple welcomed their first daughter, Marjorie Diamond, further intertwining their lives with the legacy of songwriter Neil. Three years later, in 1968, their second daughter, Elyn, was born.
But success brought complications. Neil’s career demanded constant travel, long studio hours, and public appearances. His schedule became increasingly incompatible with family life, a challenge often faced by those like Neil Diamond and his first wife, Marcia Murphey. The pressures of sudden fame created distance between them.
By 1967, the couple had separated, though they wouldn’t finalize their divorce until 1969. The split came during a period when Neil’s career was reaching new heights—a timing that highlighted the fundamental tension between his professional ambitions and their personal relationship.
Neil Diamond has been candid about taking responsibility for the marriage’s failure. In multiple interviews, he acknowledged that Jayne was supportive throughout their relationship and that the breakdown came from his inability to balance fame with family obligations.
The touring lifestyle proved particularly destructive. Neil spent months away from home, leaving Jayne Posner to raise their young daughters alone, a situation familiar to many in the lives of Neil Diamond fans. His schedule grew more demanding as his popularity increased, creating an unsustainable situation for their family.
There’s also a generational and cultural context to consider. In the late 1960s, divorce still carried a social stigma, particularly for women. Jayne’s decision to end the marriage required courage, especially given that she had two young children and was married to an increasingly famous man.
Unlike many celebrity divorces, theirs was reportedly handled without lawyers—just a direct conversation and an agreement to split things fairly, a rarity among Neil Diamond fans. This civilized approach reflected mutual respect despite their incompatibility.
Following the divorce, Jayne received custody of both daughters. They initially lived in New York before reportedly relocating to New Jersey, though details about this move remain unconfirmed.
Jayne returned to teaching, if she had ever fully stopped. She focused on providing a stable home environment for Marjorie and Elyn, away from the media attention that surrounded their father. Her commitment to privacy meant she never gave interviews, never appeared on talk shows, and never attempted to capitalize on her connection to Neil Diamond.
Some sources suggest she remarried at some point after the divorce, but no public records confirm this claim. Even basic details about her life in the 1970s and beyond remain deliberately obscure. This level of privacy is remarkable, especially given that Neil Diamond became one of the best-selling recording artists in history.
Her financial situation after the divorce is unknown. Unlike modern celebrity divorces with detailed settlement reports, the specifics of their arrangement were never made public. What’s clear is that she maintained financial independence through her teaching career rather than relying solely on any divorce settlement.
Born in 1965, Marjorie is Jayne’s eldest daughter. She reportedly inspired the title of Neil Diamond’s album “Beautiful Noise” after they attended a New York parade together when she was young.
Marjorie has her own son, Alexander, who was born in 1995, making Jayne a grandmother. Like her mother, Marjorie has maintained a private life and stays away from public attention.
Born in 1968, just a year before her parents’ divorce, Elyn has taken a more public path than her mother or sister. She founded the Children Who Never Forget Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping children who have experienced abuse.
Elyn married Mitchel Resnick, and they have a daughter named Avery Max, born on December 20, 2004. Through Elyn’s work, she carries forward the values of service and education that her mother exemplified through teaching.
Both daughters have maintained relationships with their father while respecting their mother’s privacy choices.
Jayne Posner is currently 84 or 85 years old, depending on her exact birth date, which has never been publicly confirmed. She is believed to live somewhere in the United States, most likely retired from teaching after decades in education.
Her exact location remains unknown because she has never sought media attention or maintained any social media presence, similar to the lifestyle of Neil Diamond’s first wife, Marcia. Unlike many people connected to celebrities, she hasn’t written memoirs, given interviews, or appeared in documentaries about Neil Diamond’s life.
This sustained commitment to privacy is extraordinary in today’s culture, where even tangential connections to famous people often become monetized through books, podcasts, or social media followings.
Some reports suggest she continued living in the New Jersey area after relocating there with her daughters following the divorce, but these claims remain unverified, much like the rumors surrounding Jaye Posner today.
Jayne’s net worth is unknown and likely modest compared to celebrity standards. Her income came primarily from her teaching salary—a profession that, while respectable, doesn’t generate the kind of wealth associated with entertainment industry figures.
For context, Neil Diamond’s net worth is estimated at $300 million, built from decades of record sales, concerts, and royalties. Whatever financial settlement Jayne received in their divorce hasn’t been publicly disclosed, but the lack of any visible wealth or lifestyle changes suggests she didn’t pursue an aggressive financial claim.
Her choice to maintain financial independence through teaching rather than living off her connection to Neil Diamond speaks to her character. She built a life based on her own work, not her ex-husband’s fame, mirroring the journey of Neil Diamond’s first wife, Marcia Murphey.
Jayne Posner’s story matters because it represents a rare alternative in celebrity culture. Most people connected to famous individuals eventually leverage that connection—through books, interviews, reality shows, or paid appearances.
Jayne did none of this. She walked away from a marriage to one of the most successful musicians in American history and simply continued her life as a teacher and mother. Her silence wasn’t strategic or temporary—it’s been consistent for over 50 years.
This choice raises questions about fame, privacy, and personal values, especially in the context of Neil Diamond and his first wife, Marcia Murphey. In an era where privacy seems impossible, and everyone seeks attention, Jayne’s sustained invisibility is almost radical.
Some might view her privacy as a missed opportunity to tell her side of the story or to benefit financially from her connection. Others see it as admirable restraint and dignity, much like the respect shown by Neil Diamond’s first wife, Marcia Murphey. Either way, her approach stands in sharp contrast to contemporary celebrity culture, where ex-spouses like Jaye Posner often become celebrities themselves.
Her story also highlights the women who support artists before they become famous. Jayne was there during Neil’s struggling years, providing emotional and financial support when his success was far from guaranteed. Yet she receives little recognition for this role, partly because she has never sought it.
For those interested in Neil Diamond’s life and music, Jayne remains an important figure—the high school sweetheart who believed in him first, the wife who supported his early career, and the mother of his two eldest children. But her own story, independent of this famous connection, remains her own—protected by the privacy she has consistently chosen.
