- Joy married her first husband Joseph Behar in 1965, when she was 23 years old
- The TV host recalled that they “never went to third base” for fear she would get pregnant
- Roe v. Wade was introduced in 1973 and protected women’s right to abortion
The View’s Joy Behar has revealed she didn’t have sex before marrying her first husband because she was afraid of getting pregnant when abortion was still illegal – but it didn’t stop the young lovers from ‘making out like crazy’ .
Joy, 81, said she was a “technical virgin” when she married Joseph Behar, 23, in 1965 — eight years before the landmark Roe v. Wade decision in January 1973, which US High Council argue for a protected right to abortion.
It was later rejected by 2022, leaving one in three women living in states where abortion is inaccessible.
When asked if she thought she would “see this on the ballot again” in her lifetime, Joy told the View’s Behind the Table podcast, “One of the reasons I was a tech virgin when I got married was because there was not Roe v. Wade. in the sixties you had to wait until the seventies for that.
The View’s Joy Behar has revealed she didn’t have sex before marrying her first husband in 1965 for fear she would get pregnant
Joy was only 23 years old when she married college professor Joe Behar in 1965
The comedian married her second husband Steve Janowitz in 2011 after 29 years together
“Not that it would have made that much difference, because I was a very good Catholic girl!”
She continued, “Even though I had a boyfriend and we were kissing, we never really went to third base until we got married.”
“I was very young,” Joy said of her time with Joseph, whom she was married to until 1981. The couple had one child together, a daughter named Eve.
“Kids are having sex at 17 now, to me that was really young,” Joy continued, as Brian replied, “Ahhhhh I think 17… that gives them a lot of credit, I think it’s younger than that. ‘
Referring to the overruling of Roe V. Wade, Joy said, “It’s ridiculous, we’re going backwards!”
Joy’s discussion comes as abortion rights advocates scored major victories this week in Ohio, Kentucky and Virginia.
When asked if it makes her “hopeful” that Red States are voting for abortion rights, she replied, “I can’t believe it’s even an issue! It was established, it was said, it was done, leave it alone!
‘And stay out of my womb! It’s like why do these men have to get involved with women’s bodies? No one tells you what to do with your genitals!’
Joy, who married her second husband Steve Janowitz in 2011, previously told how she could have died from an ectopic pregnancy in 1979 if she had not been given the right to terminate the pregnancy.
The 81-year-old spoke with executive producer Brian Teta about her first marriage during the latest episode of The View podcast
Joy is no stranger to talking about her first marriage and her personal life on The View
“In 1979, I had an ectopic pregnancy… and I almost died,” she told The View last August. “The doctor said the next day, ‘we almost lost you’.”
Joy continued, “The fetus is growing in the fallopian tube, and there’s nowhere to go. You cannot give birth from your fallopian tube and the fetus will not grow.
“It’s just growing, but not to full term. So it will grow just enough to burst the pipe. What happens then is that you bleed internally and then you die.
‘They rushed me to the hospital. The doctor said the next day that we almost lost you. I was in a situation where I could go to the hospital and they handled it there.”
An ectopic pregnancy is a serious medical emergency that can be life-threatening and occurs when a fertilized egg implants and grows outside the main cavity of the uterus. It is the leading cause of death in the first trimester of pregnancy.