Rhona Unsell is best known as the second wife of Carl Weathers, the American actor who played Apollo Creed in the Rocky films. The couple married in 1984 and, according to multiple published accounts, divorced in 2006. Their reported marriage spanned approximately 22 calendar years, although the details of their relationship during that period are less clearly documented.
Unsell’s connection to Weathers is well established. She is named among his former spouses in The Washington Post’s obituary and in PEOPLE’s March 2024 reporting on documents concerning his estate.
Beyond that marriage, comparatively little independently documented information is available about her personal or professional life.
Key takeaways
- Rhona Unsell was Carl Weathers’ second wife, following his marriage to Mary Ann Castle.
- The couple married in 1984. Several publications, including The US Sun, give February 20 as their wedding date.
- Us Weekly and other entertainment publications report that the marriage ended in divorce in 2006.
- Historical photographs identify Unsell attending public events with Weathers, including the Writers Guild of America Awards in March 1990.
- Multiple publications report that Unsell and Weathers had no children together. His two sons were from his first marriage.
Rhona Unsell and Carl Weathers’ Marriage
Carl Weathers was already an established Hollywood actor when he married Rhona Unsell in 1984.
His portrayal of Apollo Creed opposite Sylvester Stallone in Rocky had made him widely recognisable. By the time of his second marriage, he had also appeared in Rocky II and Rocky III.
Weathers had previously been married to Mary Ann Castle. Their marriage began in 1973 and ended in divorce in 1983.
He married Unsell the following year.
According to Us Weekly’s account of Weathers’ marriage history, the couple remained married until 2006.
Other publications, including The US Sun and Daily Express US, report the same marriage and divorce years. The US Sun gives their wedding date as February 20, 1984, although that precise date has not been independently established through an original marriage certificate.
The commonly reported dates place the marriage at approximately 22 years, making it the longest of Weathers’ three marriages.
That duration describes the reported legal timeline, however, rather than establishing that the couple lived together continuously throughout those years.
Their public appearances
Although Unsell is primarily identified through her marriage, historical entertainment photographs provide some evidence of her appearances with Weathers.
One Getty Images photograph, reproduced in AmoMama’s account of Weathers’ marriages, identifies the couple attending the 42nd Annual Writers Guild of America Awards on March 18, 1990.
The event took place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.
The photograph provides a dated record of the couple appearing together during the period covered by their reported marriage.
Weathers continued acting throughout the 1980s and 1990s, appearing in films including Predator (1987), Action Jackson (1988) and Happy Gilmore (1996).
Unsell’s presence at public events does not establish that she worked in the entertainment industry or participated in his professional projects.
When Did Rhona Unsell and Carl Weathers Divorce?
Rhona Unsell and Carl Weathers reportedly divorced in 2006, more than two decades after their marriage began.
The commonly reported chronology is supported by several entertainment publications, although the precise legal divorce date has not been established through an original court judgment.
There is also some uncertainty about the relationship’s earlier history.
In March 2024, RadarOnline reported that a will Weathers prepared in May 1988 described his marriage to Unsell as being in the process of dissolution.
That account was based on legal documents the publication said it had obtained. The original will has not been independently examined for this article, and the report does not establish when a divorce was finalised.
Consequently, it would be inaccurate to assume that the couple’s reported 22-year marriage represented an uninterrupted relationship.
The circumstances surrounding their separation and eventual divorce have not been established through a reliable public account from either person.
Following the reported 2006 divorce, Weathers married Jennifer Peterson in 2007. Their marriage ended in 2009.
Weathers died in February 2024, aged 76.
Did Rhona Unsell and Carl Weathers Have Children?
Rhona Unsell and Carl Weathers did not have children together, according to published accounts of their marriage.
Weathers had two sons, Matthew and Jason, from his first marriage to Mary Ann Castle.
The distinction is supported by Daily Express US’s February 2024 account, which identifies the two sons and states that Weathers and Unsell had no children together.
There is no sufficiently documented public account of Unsell’s relationship with Weathers’ sons to support further claims about their family arrangements.
What Is Known About Rhona Unsell Beyond Her Marriage?
While Unsell’s marriage to Weathers is documented, her independent biography is considerably less established.
Published profiles contain various claims about her early life, occupation and activities following the divorce. However, those details generally lack the identifiable records or direct statements needed to attribute them confidently to Carl Weathers’ former wife.
In particular, her professional background cannot be established simply from records belonging to someone with the same name.
Nor does the absence of extensive entertainment coverage demonstrate that she deliberately avoided publicity or stopped working after her marriage ended.
As of October 26, 2026, there is no independently established new public development concerning Unsell’s personal or professional circumstances.
Her documented connection to Weathers remains the central reason her name appears in entertainment biographies and historical accounts of his family life.
The strongest public record establishes their former marriage and its generally reported 1984–2006 timeline. It does not provide a similarly detailed account of Unsell’s independent life after their divorce.
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