Jan Ashley: Robert Kardashian’s Second Wife & Her Story
June 13, 2026
By: Hayat
She was married to one of the most famous names in American legal history — for exactly 30 days. Before the Kardashian empire existed, before the cameras and the headlines, Jan Ashley lived a full life that most people never read about. Here is the complete story of who she was, what happened, and why her name still comes up today.
John Ashley (actor/producer), married 1978, died 1997
Second Husband
Robert Kardashian Sr., married Nov 25, 1998, annulled Dec 25, 1998
Children
None
Siblings
Brother: Jerry D. Glass
Occupation
Beauty queen, executive secretary at Phillips Petroleum
Early Life in Texas and Oklahoma
Jan Ashley was born Janice Lynn Glass on August 3, 1948, in Amarillo, Potter County, Texas. Her parents were James Douglas Glass and Monnie M. Glass.
When she was around seven years old, the family relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma. That city became her home for most of her life.
Growing Up in Tulsa
Jan attended Will Rogers High School in Tulsa. She was known for her elegance and poise — qualities that would take her far in the years ahead.
After graduating, she went on to work as an executive secretary at Phillips Petroleum, supporting a senior executive known as “Boots” Adams. It was a solid professional career for a young woman building her life in mid-century Oklahoma.
Miss Tulsa 1966
In 1966, at just 17 years old, Jan entered the Miss Tulsa beauty pageant. She won the title, earning local recognition and social connections she would carry forward for years.
City-level pageants like Miss Tulsa weren’t minor events in 1960s Oklahoma. They opened doors, built networks, and brought public visibility to young women who might otherwise have had few routes into prominent social circles. For Jan, it was an early marker of a life that would quietly intersect with fame more than once.
First Marriage: John Ashley (1978–1997)
Jan’s first marriage was to John Ashley, an American actor, singer, and producer who had built a real career in Hollywood. She met him while living in Tulsa — reportedly after selling her house to him — and the two eventually married in 1978.
They moved to California together, where John was based for his film and television work.
Who Was John Ashley?
John Ashley was well known in entertainment circles throughout the 1960s, 70s, and 80s. His credits included work on The A-Team, where he served as a producer, and Apocalypse Now. He also appeared in Beyond Atlantis and various American International Pictures films.
He was not a household name to the general public, but within the industry he was a respected figure. Jan lived in that world for nearly two decades — close to Hollywood, but away from its most relentless spotlight.
His Death in 1997
John Ashley died on October 3, 1997, in New York City, while working on a film production. He was gone suddenly, and Jan became a widow after 19 years of marriage.
That loss was real and significant. She had built her adult life around him. His death left her starting over in her late 40s, and it set the stage for everything that came next.
Meeting Robert Kardashian Sr.
Jan Ashley met Robert Kardashian in early 1998, less than a year after John Ashley’s death.
The story of how they connected is specific: Robert reportedly saw a photo of Jan while she was in the process of selling her house. He reached out through one of John Ashley’s actor friends to arrange an introduction. It was deliberate. He sought her out.
They dated for about seven months. Robert proposed to Jan in Hawaii.
The Wedding in Vail
On November 25, 1998, Jan Ashley and Robert Kardashian married in Vail, Colorado, in a private ceremony. Robert’s four children — Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, and Rob — were present for the honeymoon.
At the time, Robert was already one of the most recognizable attorneys in America. His role in the O.J. Simpson trial had made him a national figure. His divorce from Kris Jenner had been finalized years earlier. Jan was walking into a world that was anything but quiet.
The Annulment: 30 Days Later
The marriage lasted exactly 30 days. The annulment was finalized on December 25, 1998 — Christmas Day.
For years, neither Jan nor Robert said much publicly about what happened. People speculated, but the real explanation didn’t emerge until Jan spoke about it in 2014.
What Jan Said
In a 2014 interview, Jan explained that the marriage collapsed not because of anything between her and Robert, but because of the chaos surrounding his family:
Robert was constantly stressed and upset
His children and his ex-wife Kris Jenner were a persistent source of tension
Jan described them as repeatedly pressuring Robert for money
She said he was never at peace — “not with me, but with his kids and his ex-wife”
Jan was direct about it: “He was upset all the time. Not with me, but with his kids and his ex-wife. They were after him for money, money, money. I don’t think he could handle them.”
The Children Question
Court documents from the annulment proceedings revealed another complication. Before the wedding, Jan and Robert had apparently agreed to have a child together. After the marriage, Robert reversed that decision — he already had four biological children and decided he didn’t want more.
Jan later said this wasn’t really the issue for her. She made clear she hadn’t entered the marriage expecting to become a mother. As she put it, if she had wanted a child, she could have had one with John Ashley during their 19 years together.
The annulment was formalized, and the divorce was completed in 1999. Jan returned to her private life.
Robert Kardashian’s Three Marriages
To understand where Jan fits in the Kardashian family story, here’s the full picture of Robert’s marriages:
Wife
Period
Children
Kris Jenner
1978–1991 (divorced)
Kourtney, Kim, Khloe, Rob
Jan Ashley
Nov 25–Dec 25, 1998 (annulled)
None
Ellen Pierson
September 2003 (weeks before death)
None
Robert Kardashian Sr. died on September 30, 2003, from esophageal cancer. He was 59.
The 2012 Paternity Controversy
Jan Ashley lived quietly for over a decade after the annulment. Then, in January 2012, she gave an interview to Star Magazine that put her back in headlines.
She claimed that Robert had told her — shortly after their wedding in 1998 — that Khloe Kardashian was not his biological daughter.
Her exact words, as reported by ABC News and multiple outlets: “Khloe is not his kid. He told me that after we got married.
Robert just kind of looked at me and said it like it was a matter of fact. He said, ‘Well, you know that Khloe’s not really a Kardashian, don’t you?’ And I said… ‘OK,’ and that was it.”
Robert’s Third Wife Said the Same Thing
Jan was not alone in making this claim. Ellen Kardashian, who had married Robert just two months before his death in 2003, told the same magazine that Khloe “looked nothing like the rest. She was tall, had a different shape, light hair, curly hair. Didn’t look anything like the other three children.”
Ellen also added an important note: Robert “never would have considered a DNA test. He loved her very much.”
So while the claim was explosive, the context was more complicated. Robert questioned the biological connection — allegedly — but never sought to confirm or disprove it. No DNA test was ever done.
The Kardashian Family Response
The reaction was immediate and angry. Khloe Kardashian went on Twitter to respond: “The audacity you have to mention my father’s name like this! Should be ashamed of urself!”
Kris Jenner addressed the claims on Good Morning America, calling them “crap” and saying: “I have never heard such crap in my life. Get a life.” She also added: “I mean I was there. I gave birth. I know who the dad was.”
The story never went away entirely. Rumors about Khloe’s paternity had circulated for years before Jan spoke up — and continued long after. But no verified DNA evidence has ever settled the question publicly.
Physical Description
Attribute
Details
Height
5’6″ (168 cm)
Weight
121 lbs (55 kg)
Hair
Blonde
Eyes
Grey
Zodiac Sign
Leo (born August 3)
Life After the Kardashians
After the annulment, Jan Ashley did something unusual for someone connected to one of America’s most famous families: she went home.
She returned to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and lived quietly. She did not seek interviews, did not appear on television, and did not leverage her connection to the Kardashian name for personal gain.
The brief moments she stepped into the media — the 2012 Star Magazine interview and the 2014 explanation of the annulment — were exceptions to a life defined by privacy. She never positioned herself as a Kardashian insider. She shared what she knew, and she stepped back.
Death and Burial
Jan Ashley died on October 1, 2015, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was 67 years old.
She is survived by her brother, Jerry D. Glass, his wife Diana, and their three sons: Jeremy, Joshua, and Jonathan.
Her burial location is notable. She was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles — next to her first husband, John Ashley. Even in death, the connection to John was the one she honored most.
Their plot at Forest Lawn places her beside the man she was married to for nearly two decades, not the one who made her famous. That choice says something about who she was.
Jan Ashley vs. Kris Jenner: A Timeline
Here’s a quick chronological view of how Jan’s life connected to the broader Kardashian story:
1991 — Robert Kardashian divorces Kris Jenner
1997 — John Ashley dies; Jan becomes a widow
1998 — Jan meets Robert, they marry in November
1998 — Marriage annulled on December 25
1999 — Divorce finalized
2003 — Robert Kardashian dies from cancer
2007 — Keeping Up with the Kardashians premieres
2012 — Jan speaks to Star Magazine about Khloe’s paternity
2014 — Jan explains the reason for the annulment
2015 — Jan Ashley dies in Tulsa at age 67
Frequently Asked Questions
Who was Jan Ashley?
Jan Ashley was born Janice Lynn Glass in 1948 — a former beauty queen and the second wife of attorney Robert Kardashian Sr., best known for their 30-day marriage that was annulled in December 1998.
Why was the marriage annulled so fast?
Jan said in 2014 that Robert was constantly stressed by conflicts with Kris Jenner and their children, who she said kept pressuring him for money — making the marriage unworkable from the start.
What did Jan Ashley say about Khloe Kardashian?
In January 2012, Jan told Star Magazine that Robert had casually told her after their wedding that Khloe was not his biological daughter — though Robert reportedly never sought a DNA test because he loved Khloe and considered her his child.
Did Jan Ashley have any children?
No. Jan had no children from either marriage — not with John Ashley during their nearly 20 years together, and not with Robert Kardashian.
When did Jan Ashley die?
Jan Ashley died on October 1, 2015, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was 67 years old and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Hollywood Hills, next to her first husband John Ashley.
Conclusion
Jan Ashley lived a life that touched fame twice — first through Hollywood’s back roads with John Ashley, then through one of the most publicized families in American history with Robert Kardashian.
She never chased the spotlight, and when it found her, she said what she had to say and went back to Tulsa. Her story is a reminder that the margins of celebrity history are filled with real people who had full lives long before and after the moment the cameras turned their way.
Hayat has 10 years of experience creating content on prayers, Bible and blessings. She runs celemagzines.com, sharing simple and meaningful spiritual guidance.
