Jordan Peterson and His Wife’s Lives Were Intertwined Even before They Got Together

Jordan Peterson has been a hot topic of discussion on the internet recently. His controversial stance on various socio-political issues has made him an interesting and often offensive personality.

But it is not just him who gets in the spotlight when he says something controversial online. His family, too, gets attention, particularly his wife, Tammy Peterson, and daughter Mikhaila Peterson.

His family has been beside him since before he became famous. And his wife, particularly, has been around him since they were just kids in a small suburban neighborhood.

Jordan Peterson and His Wife Connected over Books, Science, and Politics

Jordan and Tammy met when they were eight years old. They were living on the same street in Fairview, Northern Alberta, a town of 2,000 people. Their lives were connected in ways more than one from the very beginning.

They attended the same high school, and his father was one of her elementary teachers. Away from school, they spent time together playing with her science kit and chess, which he taught her.

Later they would discover their love for books through their junior high school librarian, and Tammy introduced him to amazing books like 1984, Brave New World and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, the latter of which would ignite in him an interest in the Soviets and Communism that has lasted a lifetime.

As they grew older, he found similarities in how he and her side of the family thought of politics and went to prom together. But, even with all of this, Jordan and Tammy were not dating.

They were mostly good friends and then drifted apart after high school. He went to Grande Prairie Regional College and studied political science and English Literature, later transferring to the University of Alberta to complete his BA in 1982.

In 1984, he completed his BA is psychology from the University of Alberta. A year later, he moved to Montreal to do his Ph.D. in clinical psychology.

All the whole, Tammy was at the University of Ottawa, getting a degree in kinesiology.

In 1987, while at McGill, Jordan attended a Jane Siberry concert. The artist reminded him of Tammy a lot. So he invited her to Montreal for Thanksgiving.

She obliged, and they moved in soon after. It took three proposals, but she finally said yes, and they got married in 1989. He would then go on to complete his Ph.D. in 1991.

"I thought, If I don’t marry Jordan, I’m not going to know what he does with his life," Tammy said of her decision to marry Jordan in 2019. "And he’s going to be an interesting person."

Jordan Peterson’s Daughter Mikhaila and Son Julian

Jordan and Tammy had their first child, daughter Mikhaila Peterson, on January 4, 1992. She was named after Mikhail Gorbachev.

Jordan Peterson with his wife, Tammy Peterson, and daughter, Mikhaila Peterson. (Photo: Instagram)

After her birth, Jordan moved the Peterson household to Boston, accepting a job at Harvard. There, the couple had their second kid, son Julian Peterson.

Mikhaila was only two when her health problems began. A suspect for juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, she was diagnosed with arthritis at age seven.

Adding to this were her depression and anxiety, and at age 10, she started anti-depressants. At 17, she had to have her first hip and her first ankle replacements.

Jordan Peterson with his wife Tammy, daughter Mikhaila, and son Julian. (Photo: Instagram)

She was plagued by various issues until she went on a self-devised elimination diet, which made most of it go away, including her arthritis and depression, or so she claims. Now, she is a health influencer, entrepreneur, and podcaster.

Julian is the least known-about member of the Peterson household. However, he, too, shares the entrepreneurial and artistic tendencies of his father and sister. He is a software developer, an entrepreneur, and a musician.