Joy Behar Shares Shocking Details of Meeting Her Husband: "He Was Nude, I Was Dressed"
Daniel Avila
Published Feb 23, 2026
There are countless ways to meet potential romantic partners—through friends, on a dating app, out at a bar or cafe, being among the most common. But, Joy Behar has a more unique story about running into her future spouse for the first time. The host of The View and her now-husband Steve Janowitz crossed paths at a nudist colony, only she was clothed and he was not.
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As reported by People, Behar and Janowitz's unconventional first encounter was brought up on the Thursday, Jan. 25 episode of The View while the co-hosts discussed Philadelphia Eagles center Jason Kelce taking off his shirt at Sunday's Kansas City Chiefs-Buffalo Bills game to passionately root for his brother, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Behar said on the show that she "couldn't care less about this story." Sunny Hostin asked her, "Have you ever ripped your shirt off?" Behar said she hadn't, but Sara Haines chimed in, "Oh, she definitely has. She met her husband at a nudist colony."
Alyssa Farah Griffin noted that the established was actually a "partial nudist colony," and Behar clarified, "First of all, he was nude, I was dressed." She said that she was "fully clothed," adding, "It was a place, it was a resort" and explaining that she doesn't even "wear bathing suits in public." At this, Griffin joked, "Neither does Steve!"
Behar and Janowitz, a teacher, married in 2011 after nearly 30 years together. She was previously married to Joe Behar from 1965 to 1981.
She's opened up on the show about their first meeting before, including in a 2020 episode. As reported by The U.S. Sun, as the panel talked about dating apps with guest Andrew Yang, Behar said, "I don't know if you know this about me, but I met my husband at a semi-nudist colony. It's true." She then joked, "He was naked, I was not, because for a man to see me naked, I have to be in his will."
Behar continued, "He was all the way on the other side of this place, and it was like an adult place … He was far away when he was naked. And then at night, there was a movie playing, and then I saw him fully dressed. But I remembered him from the daytime." She added, "People wonder about that. I tell that story, and people are like, 'Joy, really? That twitching, crazy woman on The View?' Yeah."
In 2011, Behar opened up about tying the knot with Janowitz after 29 years of dating during an interview with Good Morning America. Host Robin Roberts asked if she felt like she was on her honeymoon. "No, I don't," Behar responded. "I feel like I did something that I probably needed to do. We got married. You know, it's been a long time together. Twenty-nine years of a warm-up is sufficient. You get to know each other, and so it was the time to do it. Although I would not recommend it to younger people … You need to know somebody a long time, is what I mean." Roberts said, "Twenty-nine years?" to which Behar replied, "I guess that's a bit over the top."
Lia Beck Lia Beck is a writer living in Richmond, Virginia. In addition to Best Life, she has written for Refinery29, Bustle, Hello Giggles, InStyle, and more.Read moreFiled UnderCelebrities • Entertainment • NewsRead This NextJoy Behar Defends Controversial Costume Again
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