Real and fantasy: These Houston and Texas power couples are the stuff of legend

HOUSTON – These are some of the couples with storied pasts in Houston and Texas. Some come from reality and others from the imaginations of creative folks with an eye on the Lone Star State.

From fact

Recommended Videos



President George H.W. Bush and Barbara Bush

The former president and his wife lived in Houston after his political career ended in 1993. Though Bush was known “a scion of the East Coast establishment, a product of Greenwich, Conn., Phillips Academy and Yale University,” the Wall Street Journal noted, he lived the rest of his life until his death at 94 in Houston, his adopted home. They were often seen out-and-about in town and at Astros baseball games.

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush reside in Dallas, but they also have a ranch in Crawford, Texas, seen here in this article from Architectural Digest.

Joel and Victoria Osteen

Lakewood Church pastors Joel and Victoria Osteen live in River Oaks in Houston. The couple met at a jewelry shop and got married in 1987. The couple is now at the helm of the megachurch in Houston and are televangelists around the world via their broadcasts and books.

Tony Buzbee and Frances Moody

Attorney Tony Buzbee and Frances Moody married in 2021. The Houston couple lives in River Oaks.

Jim “Mattress Mack” and Linda McIngvale

Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale and his wife, Linda McIngvale, are fixtures in Houston. Through their business, Gallery Furniture, and occasional mention in the news -- for things like helping facilitate the rescue of a tiger -- the prominent couple remain a household name in the Houston area.

Linda McIngvale, the wife of Jim ‘Mattress Mack’ McIngvale, assists in the recovery of India the tiger

Jose and Nina Altuve

The Astros slugger and his wife Nina and their two children live in Houston. The couple has been married since 2006.

Anna Nicole Smith and J. Howard Marshall

Famed model and star of “The Anna Nicole Show” Anna Nicole Smith and oil tycoon J. Howard Marshall II lived in a Houston-area home during their short marriage. In 1994, Smith and Marshall married. She was 26. He was 89. He died less than two years later.

Chris Shepherd and Lindsey Folger Brown

Houston restauranteur Chris Shepherd and public relations expert Lindsey Folger Brown live and work in Houston. The couple married in 2020. Shepherd continues his efforts to help restaurant workers through Southern Smoke. Folger Brown’s public relations firm, Lindsey Brown Public Relations, has clients in the high-end restaurant industry, including her husband’s publicity work.

Chris Shepherd (John Davidson)
Lindsey Brown and Chris Shepherd (Erin Woolsey)

Alex and Reagan Bregman

Houston Astros star Alex Bregman and Reagan Bregman married in December 2020. The couple lives in Houston.

Reagan Howard shares her engagement with Astros player Alex Bregman on her Instagram account. (Instagram @reaganelizabeth)
Alex Bregman and fiancee Reagan Howard on partnership with the Houston Food Bank | HOUSTON LIFE | KPRC 2
Astros third baseman Alex Bregman and Reagan Howard have tied the knot, according to the bride’s Instagram account. (KPRC)
Reagan and Alex Bregman share how you can get your hands on ‘Breggy Bomb’ salsa | HOUSTON LIFE | KPRC 2

Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker

Clyde Champion Barrow and Bonnie Parker are the infamous outlaws who murdered a number of people during various robberies in the 1930s. Bonnie and Clyde met in Texas in January 1930. Here’s a fascinating report from the FBI on their crimes and their eventual deaths in 1934 when authorities ambushed them in Louisiana, firing on their vehicle and ending their crime spree across the South.

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (FBI)

Chip and Joanna Gaines

The ‘Fixer Upper’ duo from Waco are now media moguls. Their journey from stars of HGTV to revamping the DIY Network to Magnolia Network has made them a household name that goes beyond shiplap and white paint. The couple married in 2003. They have five children together.

This image released by Magnolia Network shows Chip and Joanna Gaines from the sixth season of "Fixer Upper." Magnolia Network, a joint venture between the Gaines' and Discovery, Inc. will launch on July 15. (Lisa Petrole/Magnolia Network via AP) (© 2020 Magnolia Discovery Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved.)

To fiction

J.R. and Sue Ellen Ewing

If you love “Dallas,” you loved watching the ups and downs of the love story of J.R. and Sue Ellen. Take a turn down their love lane -- with all of its speed bumps -- here.

Sissy and Bud

In “Urban Cowboy,” Sissy and Bud are in love with the Houston area as the backdrop. The movie tells the story of the young couple who marry and then have a turbulent relationship as independent Sissy and traditional Bud attempt to make their way. There’s also a mechanical bull competition.

No description found

Who did we miss? Let us know in the comments.