Rhona Unsell: Carl Weathers’ Second Wife — Life, Marriage and Legacy

Rhona Unsell was the second wife of Carl Weathers, the actor who became a household name as Apollo Creed in the Rocky films. The couple married in February 1984 and divorced in 2006, which made this the longest of Weathers’ three marriages. Unsell never pursued a public career of her own, so most of what the world knows about her comes from records connected to her famous husband.

That gap has not stopped curiosity. Searches for her name rose sharply after Weathers died in early 2024, and again when court filings about his estate listed her by name. Unfortunately, many websites have filled the silence with invented ages, made-up careers and guessed net worth figures.

This article takes a different approach. It sets out what credible reporting and public records actually show, explains the context of her years with Weathers, and points out the most common false claims so readers can spot them. Where a fact is unknown, we say so once and move on.

Rhona Unsell at a Glance

Detail	What the record shows
Name	Rhona Unsell (also listed in some records as Rhona Unsell Weathers)
Known for	Second wife of actor Carl Weathers
Wedding	February 1984 (several outlets give February 20, 1984)
Divorce	2006, after about 22 years
Children with Weathers	None
Stepsons	Matthew and Jason Weathers, from Carl’s first marriage
Documented public appearance	Writers Guild of America Awards, Beverly Hills, March 1990
Named in Weathers’ will	Yes, a will dated May 1988 listed her as a beneficiary
Spousal support	Reported as fully satisfied, per the estate’s attorney in 2024
Date of birth, profession, net worth	Not publicly documented

The rows above are the backbone of her public story. Everything that follows builds on them with context, dates and sources.

Who Is Rhona Unsell?

Rhona Unsell is an American woman whose name entered the public record through her 22-year marriage to Carl Weathers. She was not an actress, model or television personality, and she has no screen credits under her name. Her place in entertainment history is that of a spouse who stood beside a star during the busiest stretch of his career.

That distinction matters. A celebrity’s partner is often treated online as a celebrity in their own right, complete with a “career” and a “net worth.” In Unsell’s case, the documented facts are fewer but sturdier: a marriage date, a divorce year, public appearances at industry events, and her inclusion in legal papers after Weathers died.

Early Life and Background

Rhona Unsell’s birthplace, birth date, parents and schooling have never been confirmed by a credible source. She has not given a known on-the-record interview about her childhood, and no reputable outlet has published a profile of her early years.

Some records list slight variations of her name, including “Rhonda” and versions with the middle initial S. Variations like these are common in older paperwork and in copied web pages, and they help explain why searches for her return mixed results.

Because her early life is undocumented, any article that states her exact age, hometown or college should be read with suspicion. Those details are almost always borrowed from other biography sites rather than from a record.

Why So Little Is Known

There are ordinary reasons a celebrity spouse from the 1980s leaves a thin trail. Entertainment coverage then was printed, not posted, and much of it was never digitised. Spouses without careers in the industry had no press agents, no publicity tours and no reason to give interviews.

Unsell also married at a time before social media, and her marriage ended before platforms like Instagram became central to celebrity life. The result is a person who was visible at events in the 1980s and 1990s but who left almost no written record in her own words.

The 1984 Marriage to Carl Weathers

Carl Weathers married Rhona Unsell in February 1984, roughly seven months after his first marriage ended. Several outlets give the exact date as February 20, 1984. How and where the couple first met has never been reported by a reliable source.

Where Carl Weathers Was in His Life

The timing explains why the marriage drew attention. By early 1984, Weathers had played Apollo Creed in Rocky (1976), Rocky II (1979) and Rocky III (1982). The first film had won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Apollo had grown from a flashy rival into Rocky Balboa’s friend and trainer.

Weathers had also worked steadily in television, with guest roles in series such as Starsky & Hutch and Barnaby Jones. He was no longer the young football player trying to break into film. He was an established Hollywood name, and his new wife stepped into that world with him.

From Linebacker to Leading Man

Weathers’ path to that point was unusual. Born in New Orleans on January 14, 1948, he played college football at San Diego State and then linebacker for the Oakland Raiders in the NFL. He later played for the BC Lions in the Canadian Football League.

He took acting classes while still playing and made his first film appearance, uncredited, in the 1973 Clint Eastwood film Magnum Force. Within three years he was trading punches with Sylvester Stallone on screen.

The End of His First Marriage

Weathers’ first wife was Mary Ann Castle. They married in February 1973 and divorced in July 1983, according to available records. The couple had two sons, Matthew and Jason.

The short gap between that divorce and his marriage to Unsell is one reason some writers have speculated about how the second relationship began. No credible account supports any particular story, and the honest answer is that the details of their courtship are private.

Life Together: 1984 to 2006

The 22 years Unsell spent married to Weathers covered nearly every major role of his career. Looking at that body of work shows the kind of life the couple shared, even though their home life stayed out of the press.

The Films of Their Marriage

Year	Project	Weathers’ role
1985	Rocky IV	Apollo Creed, whose death in the ring drives the story
1987	Predator	Al Dillon, opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger
1988	Action Jackson	Detective Jericho Jackson, his first big lead
1993–1995	In the Heat of the Night	Police chief Hampton Forbes (TV series and films)
1996	Happy Gilmore	Golf mentor Chubbs Peterson, opposite Adam Sandler
2004–2005	Arrested Development	A comic version of himself (TV)

Within about four years of the wedding, Weathers went from a supporting player in a famous franchise to the star of his own action film. Predator in particular became a lasting cult classic, and the arm-wrestling handshake between Dillon and Schwarzenegger’s character remains one of the most quoted moments in 1980s action cinema.

The second half of the marriage brought a different kind of fame. Happy Gilmore introduced Weathers to a younger audience as a warm, funny mentor. His self-mocking turn in Arrested Development showed a comic side many fans had not seen before.

A Rare Public Glimpse

Unsell appeared at industry events with her husband from time to time. The best-documented example is the 42nd Annual Writers Guild of America Awards, held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills on March 18, 1990. Photographs from that night, credited to the Ron Galella collection, show the couple together and identify her as his wife.

That photo has a second importance. A small number of websites have claimed the marriage lasted only months. A dated 1990 picture of the couple, six years after the wedding, contradicts that claim directly.

A Private Home Life

Beyond such appearances, nothing reliable has been published about the couple’s daily life, where they lived, or how Unsell spent her working years. Weathers himself rarely discussed his marriages in interviews. Articles describing her as his business partner, manager or creative collaborator have no source behind them.

How Long Were They Married?

The weight of the evidence says about 22 years, from February 1984 to 2006. That timeline appears in Weathers’ encyclopedia entries, in UPI’s profile of the actor, and in coverage by Sportskeeda and HollywoodLife after his death.

A handful of sites give a far shorter marriage, sometimes just months. None cite a record, and the 1990 Writers Guild Awards photographs show the pair still married six years in. Readers can treat the short version as an error copied between websites.

The exact month of the 2006 divorce has not been published by a reliable source. Neither the court case number nor a filing date has appeared in the press.

Children and Stepchildren

Carl Weathers and Rhona Unsell had no children together. Every credible account of the marriage agrees on this point.

Weathers did have two sons from his first marriage, Matthew Brandon Weathers and Jason Anthony Weathers. Both were born before he married Unsell, which made her their stepmother for more than two decades. Both sons have largely kept their lives out of the spotlight.

The nature of Unsell’s bond with her stepsons has never been described publicly. Some sites claim she raised them or remained close after the divorce, but no source supports either claim. What is documented is that all three were later named together in Weathers’ estate papers, which are covered below.

The 2006 Divorce

The marriage ended in 2006. Neither Weathers nor Unsell explained the split in public, and no reliable report has given a reason. Claims about infidelity, money disputes or work pressures are guesses dressed up as facts.

One financial detail did emerge years later. When Weathers’ estate went to court in 2024, his attorney stated that Unsell’s spousal support obligation had been fully satisfied. That suggests the divorce included a support arrangement and that it was completed in full. The amount and length of that support were not made public.

Weathers moved on quickly. In March 2007, about a year after the divorce, he married Jennifer Peterson, a content producer he had reportedly met seven years earlier.

Carl Weathers’ Three Marriages Compared

Unsell’s marriage was by far the longest of the three. Seen side by side, it lasted longer than his other two marriages combined.

Wife	Married	Divorced	Length	Children with Weathers
Mary Ann Castle	February 1973	July 1983	About 10 years	Two sons, Matthew and Jason
Rhona Unsell	February 1984	2006	About 22 years	None
Jennifer Peterson	March 2007	2009 (some outlets say 2010)	About 2–3 years	None

A few patterns stand out. Weathers remarried within a year of each of his first two divorces. His first marriage covered his move from football to film, his second covered his peak as a film and TV star, and his third came as he settled into veteran roles.

He was not married at the time of his death. His family’s statement in 2024 described him as a brother, father, grandfather, partner and friend, which suggests he had a partner but no spouse at the end of his life.

Carl Weathers’ Death and the Estate Papers

Carl Weathers died in his sleep at his Los Angeles home, at age 76. His family announced the date as Thursday, February 1, 2024. His death certificate, reported weeks later, recorded the time as shortly after midnight on February 2, and listed the cause as atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Tributes came from across the industry, from Rocky co-star Sylvester Stallone to the cast and crew of The Mandalorian. In that Disney+ series, Weathers had played Greef Karga and directed several episodes, earning him a new generation of fans late in his career.

Rhona Unsell in the Will

In March 2024, Weathers’ attorney filed a petition for probate in Los Angeles Superior Court. The papers valued the estate at about $815,280 and listed both ex-wives, Mary Ann and Rhona, along with his two sons.

Reporting on the will added an important detail. The will was dated May 1988, when Weathers and Unsell had been married for four years. It named his sons and his former spouses, including Rhona, as beneficiaries of the estate and of a living trust.

This date explains what might otherwise look surprising. Unsell was not added to the will after the divorce. She was named while she was still his wife, and the document was apparently never rewritten in the decades that followed.

What the Estate Papers Do and Do Not Show

The filings confirm three facts: Unsell was named in a 1988 will, she was listed as a former spouse in the 2024 petition, and her spousal support had been fully paid. They do not show what, if anything, she ultimately received.

Most of the money sat in a living trust, which is managed privately and does not have to be disclosed in court. The trust was to be handled by the estate’s attorney and Weathers’ son. Any claim about the size of Unsell’s inheritance is therefore a guess.

Unsell has made no public statement about her former husband’s death. That silence fits the private life she has kept for decades and says nothing about her feelings.

Where Is Rhona Unsell Now?

As of November 2026, Rhona Unsell lives privately and has no verified public presence. Her current city, work and relationship status have not been reported by any credible outlet. Coverage of Weathers’ death in 2024 noted that all three of his former wives were believed to be alive.

She has no confirmed social media account. Profiles that use her name should not be treated as hers unless a reputable source links to them. Whether she remarried after 2006 is not known.

Age, Profession and Net Worth

These are the three most searched questions about Unsell, and they share the same honest answer: none has been documented.

Age: Her birth date is not public. Any exact age online is an estimate at best.
Profession: She has no acting, producing or directing credits. What she did for work before, during or after the marriage has not been reported.
Net worth: No reliable figure exists. Her personal finances, any divorce settlement amount and any money from Weathers’ trust are all private.

It is worth explaining why Weathers’ own wealth does not answer the last question. His estate was valued at about $815,000 in court filings, a modest sum for a star of his fame because most of his assets were held in a trust. Even if that trust’s value were known, it would say nothing certain about Unsell’s share, her own income or her savings.

Why Net Worth Figures for Private People Are Unreliable

For actors and athletes, writers can base estimates on reported salaries, contracts and property sales. For a private person, none of those inputs exists. A figure such as “1million”or”5 million” next to Unsell’s name is usually invented to complete a template, then copied by other sites until it looks like a fact.

False Claims to Watch For

Search results for Rhona Unsell contain a striking amount of invented material. These are the errors that appear most often, and how to spot them.

Claim seen online	Why it is wrong
She was born on February 20, 1984	That is the reported wedding date. The two were mixed up by a careless site and copied.
She is about 40 years old	This figure follows from the wrong birth date above, which would make her a newborn bride.
She built an acting career	She has no screen credits in any film or TV database.
She made documentaries with Weathers	No such projects exist in either person’s filmography.
The marriage lasted only months	Dated 1990 photos show them still married, and most sources give 22 years.
She had children with Weathers	His only children were the two sons from his first marriage.
She has a specific net worth	No financial record supports any figure.

How These Errors Spread

Many celebrity biography pages are produced from templates with fixed fields for age, height, net worth and career. When a fact is missing, some writers fill the field anyway. Other sites then copy that page, and within months the same false detail appears on dozens of domains.

Repetition makes the claim look confirmed, yet every copy traces back to one unsupported source. The wedding-date-as-birth-date mistake is a clear example of this chain.

How to Check a Claim Yourself

Look for the original source, such as a court filing, a dated photograph or a report from an established news outlet.
Check whether the claim makes sense against known dates. A birth year of 1984 cannot fit a wife who married that same year.
Compare at least two independent outlets, not two sites that copy each other.
Treat exact ages, heights and net worth figures for private people as unverified unless a source is named.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is Rhona Unsell?

Rhona Unsell is the second wife of the late actor Carl Weathers. They married in February 1984 and divorced in 2006. She has lived privately and has no public career in entertainment.

How long were Rhona Unsell and Carl Weathers married?

About 22 years, from 1984 to 2006. It was the longest of Weathers’ three marriages. Claims of a marriage lasting only months are contradicted by dated photos of the couple from 1990.

Did Rhona Unsell and Carl Weathers have children?

No. Weathers’ two sons, Matthew and Jason, were born during his first marriage to Mary Ann Castle. Unsell was their stepmother during her marriage.

Was Rhona Unsell in Carl Weathers’ will?

Yes. Reporting on his estate in 2024 said a will dated May 1988 named his two sons and two former wives, including Rhona, as beneficiaries. What she actually received from his trust has not been disclosed.

Did Rhona Unsell receive alimony?

The estate’s attorney told the court in 2024 that her spousal support obligation had been fully satisfied. The amount and duration were never made public.

How old is Rhona Unsell?

Her age is not publicly known. Sites that list her birth date as February 20, 1984, have confused it with her wedding date.

What is Rhona Unsell’s net worth?

There is no reliable figure. Her finances have never been reported, and her former husband’s estate does not reveal her personal wealth.

Where is Rhona Unsell today?

She lives privately. Her location, work and relationship status have not been reported, and she has no verified social media account.

Conclusion

Rhona Unsell spent 22 years married to Carl Weathers, the longest marriage of his life, and those years spanned Rocky IV, Predator, Action Jackson and Happy Gilmore. She was seen beside him at Hollywood events, named in the will he wrote in 1988, and listed in court papers after his death in 2024.

Beyond those facts, she has chosen, or simply been able, to live away from the spotlight. The most accurate biography of her is a short one, built on records rather than guesses. That makes her story a useful reminder that a famous name in the family does not make a private person’s life public property.