Widely known for “Wastin’ away again in Margaritaville,” the tropical-inspired tunes of Jimmy Buffett also served as the soundtrack to the wanderlust life he shared with his beautiful wife, Jane Slagsvol.
In a relationship that started as a spring break fling, the coupling of Buffett and Slagsvol became an epic love story spanning almost five decades.
The two were together from 1977 until the moment that the devoted husband and father of three died on September 1, 2023.
Keep reading more to learn more about the endearing love shared by Jimmy Buffett and Jane Slagsvol!
Born in 1946, Jimmy Buffet met the beautiful Jane Slagsvol in Key West, Florida, in the early 1970s.
Slagsvol, then a student at the University of South Carolina, was spending her spring break in the Keys and met the “Margaritaville” singer at the legendary watering hole, the Chart Room Bar, where he tested many songs to audiences.
Buffett, who divorced his first wife after three years of marriage in 1972, immediately warmed up to the gorgeous honey blonde Slagsvol, who walked into the bar while he was singing.
Speaking with Time magazine in 1998, Buffet explained that the next night, she went to the bar again, “wearing a tight, long pink dress that made a lasting impression on me.”
The two of them formed an instant bond, and instead of returning to school, Slagsvol stayed in Key West and moved in with Buffett.
In 1977–the same year “Margaritaville” hit the charts–the couple married in Aspen, with the Eagles entertaining their wedding guests.
Frequently touring and on the road, the entertainer was leaving his wife behind and expressed in his music how he missed her.
According to his biography “Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All The Way,” the 1978 hit song “Come Monday” was written for Slagsvol while he was in L.A. on tour, and she was back in Key West.
The song includes lyrics like, “Come Monday, it’ll be alright / Come Monday, I’ll be holding you tight / I spent four lonely days in brown L.A. haze /And I just want you back by my side.” Slagsvol also had a starring role in the video.
After two years of marriage, Buffett and Slagsvol welcomed their first child, daughter Savannah, who was born on June 1, 1979.
Shortly after Savannah was born, the new mother was needing a change from the constant partying lifestyle and the couple, still very much in love, had a brief separation in the 1980s.
“I’d been with Jimmy since I was a child, through the craziest times, and I didn’t have a clue who I was,” Slagsvol said. “So, I left. I got sober.”
Summing up the time he spent apart from Slagsvol, Buffett writes (per the New York Times), “…got married, broke my leg three times in one year, had a baby girl, made more records, bought a bigger boat, and sailed away to St. Barts.” He continued, “I got separated from the right girl, sold the boat, sold the house in Aspen, moved back to Key West, worked the road, and made more records. I rented an apartment in Paris, went to Brazil for Carnival, learned to fly, went into therapy, quit doing dope, bought my first seaplane, flew all over the Caribbean, almost got a second divorce, moved to Malibu for more therapy, and got back with the right girl.”
Reuniting in 1991, Buffet and Slagsvol were inseparable, and celebrating their coming together they expanded their family with daughter Sarah–who now goes by Delaney–born on April 1, 1992. They then adopted their son, Cameron, who was born in 1994.
In his biography Buffett credits his gorgeous wife for cleaning up his band’s “grungy look.”
His band, the Coral Reefers, known to wear Levi’s jeans ventilated with large holes and collarless shirts, were transformed by Slagsvol who styled the men as more professional, making sure they were presentable and looked “important” before heading out on tour.
And when he wasn’t on tour, he was travelling with his family.
Daughter Savannah writes on her website that she “had a passport before she could walk, traveling the world with her parents.” She adds that she quickly adapted “to the get-up-and-go lifestyle…with a wanderlust emerging that has stayed with her to this day.”
Though Slagsvol preferred maintaining a low profile she frequently accompanied her husband at red carpet events, and she supported his growing Margaritaville empire, that includes a wide range of establishments, like restaurants, resorts, merchandise, and the jukebox musical, Escape to Margaritaville. The musical, that premiered in 2018 on Broadway, is about a young singer at the bar Margaritaville, and features Buffet’s hit songs.
Buffett and Slagsvol also appeared at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, where Slagsvol wore a show-stopping sparkly floor-length gown, and Buffett wore a dark green suit jacket.
On September 1, at 76, the legendary singer died peacefully, surrounded by his family, friends, music, and beloved dogs.
“I have always looked at life as a voyage, mostly wonderful, sometimes frightening. In my family and friends, I have discovered treasure more valuable than gold…My voyage was never a well-conceived plan, nor will it ever be. I have made it up as I went along,” Buffett wrote.
What a beautiful love story the two shared! No doubt that Jimmy Buffett and Jane Slagsvol had their ups and downs but they were connected enough to find their way back to one another, and make it work.
It’s still hard to believe that the great Jimmy Buffett is dead. We’re sure his family is experiencing a lot of sadness right now and we’re sending them positive, healing vibes in their time of grieving.
Please share this story so others can learn about the incredible woman who stood by her husband’s side until the moment he died.
If you were moved by this story, you’ll probably enjoy reading about Jimmy Buffett surprising fans at a concert in May 2023, right after he was hospitalized.
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