The Story of Stephen and Tabitha King, Who Went From Living in a Trailer to Being Famous Worldwide

You must have heard the phrase, “Behind every great man, there’s a great woman.” When it comes to Tabitha King, the wife of writer Stephen King, this quote is on point. This couple has gone on a more than 50-year path from poverty to success and prosperity, and they haven’t lost their feelings along the way. So, we decided not to lose the opportunity to tell you this amazing love story.

They hardened their love in serious challenges.

Tabith and Stephen met at poetry readings in the university library at the end of the 60s. These two young people from low-income families both had an interest in writing and instantly fell in love with each other. This is how Stephen describes this moment:

They got married right after university. The ceremony was very simple, and Stephen even had to borrow the shoes and the suit for the day. That wasn’t the last challenge for the young couple.

They didn’t have much literary success in the early days. Nobody wanted to publish Tabitha’s poems, and Stephen wrote novels that weren’t published and short stories for men’s articles. In 1973, they barely had money for food. They had to live in a trailer with 2 small kids and work several jobs to survive. The couple wrote their works on Tabitha’s typewriter, because having 2 typewriters was very expensive. Stephen even joked that the fact that his future wife had a typewriter was one of the reasons they got married.

Stephen owes his first success to Tabitha.

Stephen didn’t have the best reputation because he had publications in men’s articles. One of the readers even said that the author only imagined himself as a macho man, but in real life, he was scared of women and doesn’t know how to write about them. Stephen’s pride was hurt, and he started writing a story of a girl that realizes she had superpowers and gets back at her school bullies.

But the story was hard to write. Stephen wrote the first 3 pages and threw them away, agreeing with the comments on his female characters. And this is where the wise Tabitha came to help.

Carrie was finished, even though Stephen didn’t like it. And it didn’t become successful right away; the novel was rejected by 30 publishers. But on one of the days when Stephen was working at a school, he was invited to the phone because his wife was calling. The couple had no phone in the trailer because they couldn’t afford it, and the writer knew she had to go to the neighbors to make a call, so it was important. Panting, Tabitha told Stephen that Doubleday had finally bought the rights for the book and paid $2,500 in advance. The family could finally move from the trailer into an apartment, buy a car, and groceries. They even got a phone. But it wasn’t the ultimate success yet.

The book’s sales weren’t great, and the writer was considering going back to work in the school. But some big news made him change his plans. Another publisher bought the rights for the book for the insane amount of $400,000. Half of the money went to Stephen. When he got his first big check, he ran to the store to buy a gift for his wife, but everything was closed. So he bought the first thing he found: a hairdryer.

The novel made Stephen a rising star of the horror genre. 3 years later, he would give Tabitha a Cartier engagement ring he “owed” to her since their wedding.

Tabitha and Stephen didn’t only overcome all the difficulties themselves, but also started helping others.

Despite the amazing success, Stephen himself wasn’t in the best shape due to his unhealthy lifestyle. For a long time, he lost control over himself, and he doesn’t even remember how he worked during those years:

Tabitha still loved her husband, but she could see the pit he was falling into and didn’t want her kids to be in danger. She set an ultimatum — either he could get treatment, or he could leave the house. The threat of losing his family worked. From there, their life improved.

Tabitha with her son Joe and her grandchild.

Tabitha and Stephen have a big family — 3 children, 2 of whom are quite successful writers. They also have 4 grandkids. But their true family is far bigger. The famous couple donates huge sums of money to rescuers, libraries, young families that can’t pay their heating bills, and others in need. Of course, they also help out writers. After Stephen ended up in the hospital because of a careless driver, they started to help writers even more.

Aside from that, Tabitha manages local radio stations and writes novels and sci-fi stories.

Stephen never forgets to support and thank his wife.

Often, the people who write newspaper headlines neglect to include the names of the less-popular partners of famous people. But Stephen does not allow this to happen. Once, the Stephen and Tabitha King Foundation made a donation to the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The news outlets quickly made articles like, “Stephen King and his wife...” The couple quickly reacted:

In another tweet, they continued:

The public liked their reactions to the sexist headline and joked a lot about them. Tabitha and Stephen’s son, Joe, also commented:

Stephen doesn’t only protect his wife, but constantly thanks her for her support. For example, he devoted his book Carrie to her. And in one of his many acceptance speeches, he said this:

Which books by the Kings do you like?