Remembering Michael Keaton’s Late Ex Wife Caroline McWilliams

Michael Keaton married actress Caroline McWilliams on June 5, 1982. The couple welcomed their first and only child, son Sean Maxwell Douglas, a year later on May 27, 1983. 

Keaton and McWilliams divorced in 1990, but they continued co-parenting Sean. In fact, the Batman star even left Hollywood after his marriage ended so that he could be more involved in raising his son.

Since then, Keaton and his son’s bond has only grown deeper. The actor got emotional during his acceptance speech for the 2015 Golden Globe, calling Sean his best friend.

My best friend is kind, intelligent, funny, talented, considerate, thoughtful. Did I say kind? He also… He also happens to be my son Sean… I love you with all my heart, buddy.

Here’s a look at Keaton’s late wife, son, and their relationship.

Michael Keaton And Ex-Wife Caroline McWilliams

Both Keaton and McWilliams kept their romance away from the spotlight. Aside from their marriage and son, the pair didn’t share much about their relationship.

The two separated in 1990 after Keaton filed for divorce in January.

However, even after ending their marriage, Keaton and his ex-wife were still very close.

She passed away at the age of 64 on February 11, 2010, because of multiple myeloma.

When talking to Elle about McWilliams, Keaton had nothing but good to say about her.

She was a remarkable mom. Sean is the great guy he is because of her — we’ve always been tight, but now the bond’s even tighter. We’re the family now.

Michael Keaton's Son Is A Musician

Keaton has expressed his love for his son ever since he became a father.

Throughout his appearances in talk shows over the years, he has recounted several stories of Sean.

Like his father, Sean has also been supportive of Keaton. He was present during Keaton’s win in the 2015 Golden Globe and many more.

And while Sean did not follow in his parents’ footsteps to be an actor, he is a very talented artist in his own regard.

He is a Grammy-nominated, multi-platinum songwriter and producer.

His first big hit was Demi Lovato’s 2013 song ‘Heart Attack’ of which he was a co-writer. He also worked with Jason Derulo for ‘Talk Dirty’ and ‘Wiggle’.

Aside from the aforementioned two singers, Sean has also collaborated with other big names such as Madonna, the Backstreet Boys, Nick Jonas, Chris Brown, David Guetta, and Michael Bolton.

Sean married Rachel Bartov on August 30, 2014. For their wedding, he even wrote and performed a song for her.

The pair have a son together, whom he refers to as Rivers in his Instagram posts. 

Sean and Bartov also have a dog and he posted a picture of his wife with his son and dog back in 2017, captioning the image “The wife and kids.”

Not much is known about Bartov, but he revealed in another Instagram post that she is a part-owner of a baby/toddler food company called Tummy Thyme.