Erika Riker Was Randy Jackson’s Wife for 18 Years – Meet Her

Erika Riker was the wife of Randy Jackson from 1995 until 2014 when the marriage ended. Born on December 13, 1969, and 54 years old, Erika is a former ballet dancer who has become even more famous for her marriage to Randy, an American musician, music executive, and TV presenter.

Erika first gained attention thanks to her career as a ballet dancer, even before she met and settled with her former husband. The union was successful for a long time before it came to an end years ago. Nonetheless, she is still referred to as Randy’s former wife, with many questions still raging on how she married Randy and all that happened until their divorce.

What is Erika Riker’s Age?

Erika Riker is currently 54 years old as of 2024, which means she was born on December 13, 1969. Of American nationality and white ethnicity, she was born in Los Angeles, California, United States. She also has German roots.

Erika was brought up alongside a younger brother, Leland Riker by her mom Paula, and stepdad, Leland L. Anderson who served in the military. There is no mention of her biological dad.

For her educational pursuit, Erika went to D’Iberville High School in Mississippi. Next, she went to Chapman University where she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and from there, she went to the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology where she got a master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy/Counseling.

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She Started as a Ballet Dancer

Erika’s earliest known career is as a Ballet dancer. Still, she did not do this for a very long time as by 1988, she was already working at Classical Ballet Conservatory as the Classical Ballet Conservatory.

By 2000, she went to Wilbur Avenue Elementary School where she took a job as a Physical Education teacher. She lasted 7 years here before moving again to The Good Life Academy, where she worked as the Children and Adolescent Psychology Intern. She also worked as a director of Social Development at the Children of the Caribbean, Inc.

According to her LinkedIn profile, Erika now works as a Marriage and Family Therapy Trainee at the Center for Integrated Family and Health Services.

When Did Erika Riker Become Randy Jackson’s Wife?

Randy Jackson and Erika Jackson Riker met and got married in 1995. That was also the year that they met for the first time during a music video shoot. They instantly fell in love and walked down the aisle after a few months of dating.

While it was the first marriage for Erika who was 26 years old at the time, it was the second for Randy who was 39. The union seemed happy for several years to come and it was blessed with two kids.

While the couple lasted, they were very supportive of each other. They founded and ran the Randy and Erika Family Foundation which they came up with to focus on dance and other physical activities.

The Couple Divorced After 18 Years of Marriage

Unfortunately, the marriage between Randy and Erika did not last forever as it came to an end after 18 years. The marriage ended in 2014 when Erika filed for divorce from her estranged husband. Court documents showed that she indicated that the reason for asking for divorce was irreconcilable differences. At the time, their daughter was already an adult but their son was still 17 years old, which meant he was a minor. Because of this, she asked to be given custody of the kid.

The divorce dragged on for 4 years before it was finally settled in December 2018 when a judge signed off on the dissolution of the marriage. The couple had no prenuptial agreement and because of this, there were speculations that Erika could have made as much as $20 to $40 million from the divorce, but the settlements were kept under wraps.

Since the divorce, neither of them has gotten married again. However, while Erika has managed to keep all about her love life private after the divorce and it is not clear if she has dated anyone subsequently, it is no secret that Randy’s case is slightly different. In 2019, he was linked to a new girlfriend whose name was given as Simone. Randy was 62 at the time while his new woman was 27. Nothing serious has come from the relationship.

Erika Riker’s Children

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Erika Riker’s marriage to Randy Jackson was blessed with two amazing kids; a daughter named Zoe Jackson and a son named Jordan Jackson.

The oldest of her kids is Zoe Jackson who was born in 1996 which means that she was welcomed by the couple less than two years after their marriage and she is now 28 years old. She has not followed the footsteps of her father or mother but instead, she is a photographer.

Zoe spent her childhood in a very stable home together with her parents and younger brother. However, nothing has been made known as regards her educational pursuits and earliest accomplishments. She is very private so not much is known about her personal life.

Her second son is Jordan Jackson who was born on June 19, 1998, which means he is now 25 years old. Jordan’s childhood is also as stable as that of his older sister but the most significant thing about them is that their parents have done a great job of keeping the lives of Zoe and Jordan away from the public

Career-wise, Jordan is following in the footsteps of his father who is a former judge on American Idol, musician, and executive producer. He is also in the music business as a producer and DJ.

Erika Riker’s Net Worth

Erika Riker’s net worth as of 2024 is not known but speculations claim she may be worth more than $15 million. This is because she is likely to have pulled in half of her ex-husband’s fortune of $40 million when they divorced since they did not have a prenup.

If this is anything to go by, then it is possible that she made $20 million from the divorce. More so, she has also made money from her various engagements as a former dancer and regarding her subsequent work engagements.