Anne Steves is best known as the former wife of Rick Steves, the American travel writer, television presenter and founder of Rick Steves’ Europe. The couple married in the 1980s, raised two children, Andy and Jackie Steves, and divorced in 2010 after more than two decades together.
Although her public identity is closely connected to her former husband, Anne also appeared in his European travel programmes and was associated with charitable initiatives in Washington State. Historical accounts describe her as a nurse, while records from Mercy Corps and the YWCA provide further details about her involvement in the family’s public activities.
Key takeaways
- Marriage: Anne Steves was married to Rick Steves from the 1980s until their divorce in 2010. Historical sources disagree on the exact wedding year.
- Children: The former couple have two children, Andy Steves and Jackie Steves, both featured in their father’s travel programmes.
- Professional background: The International Directory of Company Histories described Anne as a nurse, although details of her nursing career remain limited.
- Public appearances: Anne appeared in Rick Steves’ European travel programmes, including episodes filmed in Ireland and Switzerland.
- Community involvement: Anne and Rick were jointly acknowledged as Mercy Corps supporters in 2003 and were historically associated with the Trinity Place housing initiative.
Anne Steves profile summary
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Full name | Anne Steves |
| Known for | Former wife of travel writer and television presenter Rick Steves |
| Former spouse | Rick Steves |
| Marriage | Married in the 1980s; divorced in 2010 |
| Children | Andy Steves and Jackie Steves |
| Reported profession | Nurse, according to historical business reporting |
| Television appearances | Rick Steves’ Europe travel programmes, including episodes featuring Ireland and Switzerland |
| Documented charitable associations | Mercy Corps and the Trinity Place housing initiative |
| Historical location | Associated with Edmonds, Washington, during her marriage |
Who is Anne Steves?
Anne Steves became publicly known through her marriage to Rick Steves, whose European guidebooks, organised tours and television programmes made him a familiar figure among American travellers.
Their relationship began during the early years of Rick’s travel business. A historical account published in the International Directory of Company Histories reports that the couple met in 1983 after Anne attended one of his travel lectures at the University of Washington.
The same account describes Anne as a nurse. It does not provide a detailed employment history, but it establishes that she had a reported professional background outside her husband’s travel business.
According to HistoryLink’s biography of Rick Steves, the couple married in 1983. Other historical accounts place the marriage around 1984 or 1985, so the exact year remains uncertain.
What is firmly established is that their marriage lasted more than two decades and coincided with the expansion of Rick’s travel business from a local operation in Edmonds, Washington, into a nationally recognised travel brand.
During those years, Anne participated in some of the family’s European travel experiences, several of which appeared on television.
Marriage, family and life with Rick Steves
Anne and Rick Steves raised two children, Andy and Jackie, during their marriage.
Their son, Andy Steves, later established his own career in the travel industry, founding Weekend Student Adventures, a company offering European trips aimed at students and younger travellers.
Jackie Steves also appeared in the family’s travel programmes, including episodes that featured both parents and their children exploring European destinations together.
These family appearances provide a documented glimpse of Anne’s involvement in Rick’s work during the marriage.
In the 2003 episode South Ireland: Waterford to the Ring of Kerry, Rick introduces Anne and their children as his travelling companions. The programme follows the family through southern Ireland, incorporating their experiences into the destination’s broader history and culture.
Anne also appears in Christmas in Switzerland, produced in 2005. The episode features the Steves family in Gimmelwald, a village in the Swiss Alps, experiencing local Christmas traditions.
Both programmes identify Anne by name and include her participation in the family’s activities. They establish that she appeared on screen alongside Rick, although they do not indicate that she held a regular presenting or production role.
The episodes remain available through Rick Steves’ official archive, including South Ireland: Waterford to the Ring of Kerry and Christmas in Switzerland.
Anne Steves’ career and community involvement
Anne’s professional background has received considerably less coverage than Rick’s travel career.
The historical International Directory of Company Histories entry for Europe Through the Back Door identifies her as a nurse. However, it does not establish where she trained, how long she practised or whether she continued working in healthcare after her divorce.
Her involvement in charitable initiatives is better documented.
Support for Mercy Corps
In its 2003 annual report, humanitarian organisation Mercy Corps listed Rick and Anne Steves together among its supporters.
Their names appear in the report’s Good Samaritan Society acknowledgments, providing a contemporary record of their association with the organisation during their marriage.
The listing does not distinguish their individual contributions or describe specific responsibilities, but it confirms that Mercy Corps publicly recognised them together.
The acknowledgment appears in the Mercy Corps 2003 Annual Report.
The Trinity Place housing initiative
Anne was also historically associated with Trinity Place, a housing initiative involving Rick Steves, the YWCA and Edmonds Rotary in Washington State.
The project developed from an earlier proposal called Trinity Way. According to Rick Steves’ account of the initiative, plans for new housing construction became too expensive, leading to a different approach.
In 2005, a 24-unit apartment property was acquired for use as transitional housing for women and children experiencing homelessness.
Historical local reporting and a published video description of the partnership identified both Rick and Anne in connection with the project.
The precise division of responsibilities between them is not established. Nevertheless, Anne’s association with Trinity Place adds another documented example of her involvement in community activities during the marriage.
The project continued after the couple divorced. In April 2017, Rick transferred ownership of the property to the YWCA, allowing the organisation to continue using it for housing.
The YWCA’s official announcement identifies Rick as the donor in that later transaction.
Anne’s historical association with the initiative should therefore be distinguished from the ownership transfer that took place seven years after their divorce.
When did Anne and Rick Steves divorce?
Anne and Rick Steves divorced in 2010, ending a marriage that had lasted more than two decades.
The divorce year is documented by HistoryLink and independently confirmed in The Washington Post’s April 2024 profile of Rick Steves.
Rick has subsequently spoken about the difficulties of balancing his professional commitments with his family relationships.
In a September 2021 interview with The New Yorker, he discussed how the demands of his travel career affected his personal life.
“It was costly to my relationship. We ended up getting a divorce,” he told interviewer Rachel Syme.
The comment offers Rick’s perspective on the strain his work placed on the marriage. It does not establish every circumstance behind the separation or explain Anne’s own experience of the divorce.
The original New Yorker interview provides further context for his reflections on work, parenting and family relationships.
What happened to Anne Steves after the divorce?
Anne Steves has had little documented public involvement in Rick Steves’ travel business or television work since their marriage ended.
Unlike Rick, whose professional activities and public statements continue to receive substantial attention, Anne has not been the subject of a comparably detailed, authoritative account of her later life.
As of October 2026, reliable public information about her current occupation and personal circumstances remains limited.
Her earlier television appearances and charitable associations, however, provide a clearer account of her public history than descriptions focused exclusively on her former marriage.
Anne Steves was part of the family travel programmes that introduced viewers to European destinations, and contemporary records connect her to charitable support and community housing initiatives. Those documented activities remain the strongest basis for understanding her public life alongside the more widely reported history of her marriage to Rick Steves.
