James Westley Welch is remembered today primarily as Raquel Welch’s first husband, but his own story stretches from a working-class San Diego childhood to a career on the open ocean and, later, a quiet life away from Hollywood entirely.
Long before Raquel Welch became one of the most photographed actresses of the 20th century, she was a teenager named Jo Raquel Tejada attending La Jolla High School in San Diego, California, where she met James, a fellow student who would become her high school sweetheart and, eventually, her husband.
Their marriage lasted only a few years, but it produced two children and left a lasting impression on Raquel, who spoke about James for decades afterward. This article covers his early life, education, marriage, career, children, and current status.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
| Full Name | James Westley Welch |
| Nickname | Jim Welch |
| Year of Birth | Reportedly 1940 |
| Birthplace | San Diego, California |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | La Jolla High School |
| Early Occupation | Tuna fisherman, tuna clipper |
| Known For | First husband of Raquel Welch |
| Marriage | 1959–1964 |
| Children | Damon Welch, Latanne Rene “Tahnee” Welch |
| Mother | Tahnee Land |
| Reported Siblings | Jan, Jerry, and Judy |
| Current Status | Not publicly confirmed |
James Westley Welch’s Early Life
James Westley Welch’s early life was shaped by his upbringing in San Diego, California, a coastal city known for its naval history and fishing industry. He was reportedly born in 1940, though his birth records have never been widely publicized, which is common for people who never sought a public career of their own.
His mother, Tahnee Land, raised him alongside his reported siblings, Jan, Jerry, and Judy. Growing up in a working-class household near the Pacific coast likely shaped his later decision to pursue commercial fishing rather than a traditional office career. San Diego in the 1950s was a place where fishing, particularly tuna fishing, was a major local industry, and many young men from the area found employment on fishing vessels straight out of high school.
His Education at La Jolla High School
James attended La Jolla High School in San Diego, the same school where Raquel Welch, born Jo Raquel Tejada, was also a student. La Jolla High School was known for its strong athletics programs, and James played football there, a detail often mentioned alongside Raquel’s own role as a cheerleader at the same school.
While James was known more for athletics, Raquel was recognized as an honors student who did well academically, including in her American government class. It was within this shared school environment, filled with football games, pep rallies, and everyday teenage routines, that their relationship began to take shape.
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How James Westley Welch Met Raquel Welch
James Westley Welch and Raquel Welch met as classmates at La Jolla High School in San Diego, California, and their relationship developed the way many high school romances do, through shared classes, football games, and time spent around Pacific Beach, San Diego, where teenagers in the area often gathered.
Reports describe the two bonding over music, including the Sam Cooke song “You Send Me,” which became closely associated with their early relationship. Their connection was reportedly grounded in genuine affection rather than any public ambition, since neither of them was famous at the time. James was simply a local boy from San Diego, and Raquel was a talented, popular student with dreams that had not yet taken shape into a Hollywood career.
James Left School and Went to Sea
During his senior year, James made the decision to leave school and take a job as a tuna fisherman, working aboard a tuna clipper that traveled toward Peru for extended commercial fishing trips. This was not an unusual path for young men from San Diego at the time, since commercial fishing offered steady income even without a completed education.
While James was away at sea, Raquel continued to stay in touch with him, and his mother, Tahnee Land, reportedly kept Raquel updated on his wellbeing during the months he was gone. When James eventually returned from his time working the tuna clipper, Raquel decided to move forward with their relationship more seriously, setting the stage for their eventual marriage.
Marriage to Raquel Welch
James Westley Welch and Raquel Welch were married in Las Vegas, Nevada, with one widely cited source placing the wedding date as May 8, 1959. Raquel was 19 years old at the time and had been attending San Diego State College on a scholarship, studying theater arts, but she left college to marry James.
The marriage reportedly did not have full support from Raquel’s family. Her father, Carlos Armando Tejada, was strongly opposed to the match, while her mother was said to be unhappy about the decision as well. On James’s side, his mother, Tahnee Land, reportedly approved of the marriage, giving James at least one source of family support during this period.
Their Early Married Life
The early years of their marriage, from 1959 onward, were spent adjusting to adult responsibilities at a young age. Raquel had left her studies at San Diego State College behind, and the couple settled into married life without the backing of Hollywood fame, since Raquel’s acting career had not yet begun.
This period of their marriage coincided with the start of their family, as the couple welcomed two children in relatively quick succession. Financial and emotional pressures common to young couples, combined with their lack of life experience, would later be cited by Raquel as contributing factors in the eventual breakdown of the marriage.
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James and Raquel Welch’s Children
James and Raquel had two children together during their marriage. The following list outlines who they are and what they later became known for.
- Damon Welch – Born in 1959, Damon Welch went on to work in the entertainment industry as an actor, producer, writer, and director, including involvement with the film The Day the Earth Got Stoned.
- Latanne Rene “Tahnee” Welch – Born in 1961, Tahnee Welch became a model and actress, known for appearing in films such as Cocoon, and later projects including Sleeping Beauty, Search and Destroy, and I Shot Andy Warhol. She also attended Boston University.
Both children grew up largely under their mother’s care following the couple’s divorce, though they maintained a connection to their father’s side of the family as well.
Their Separation and Divorce
James Westley Welch and Raquel Welch separated in 1962, a few years into their marriage, before officially divorcing in 1964. Raquel later addressed the divorce in her memoir, Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage, reflecting on how their youth and inexperience played a role in the marriage not lasting.
She also expressed regret over how the separation affected James and their two young children, Damon and Tahnee. Despite the divorce, Raquel continued using the surname Welch throughout the rest of her acting career and personal life, a decision that kept James’s family name attached to her public identity for decades.
James Westley Welch’s Career
James Westley Welch’s career began in commercial fishing, working aboard a tuna clipper and traveling as far as Peru during his years as a tuna fisherman. This physically demanding work was his first real job after leaving school early. According to some later reports, his career took a notable turn, with one source describing him, by 1973, as the president of a multimillion-dollar conglomerate.
Details about which company this was remain limited, as reliable public records covering this stage of his business career are scarce. This shift from manual labor on a fishing boat to an executive-level business role suggests significant personal reinvention, even though the specifics are not well documented.
His Relationship With Raquel After Divorce
Even after their 1964 divorce, James and Raquel Welch appear to have maintained some level of contact over the years. Reports indicate that James reached out to Raquel again in 1977, more than a decade after their marriage had ended.
By that point, their lives had diverged enormously, with Raquel having become a major Hollywood star known for films like One Million Years B.C., Fantastic Voyage, and The Three Musketeers, while James had built a life largely outside the public eye. The two also shared responsibility as parents to Damon and Tahnee, which likely kept some level of communication alive between them even after the marriage itself had ended.
Raquel Welch Always Considered Him Her First Love
Raquel Welch was open, particularly in later interviews and in her memoir Raquel: Beyond the Cleavage, about the fact that James Westley Welch remained her first true love. Despite marrying other men after their divorce, including Patrick Curtis, André Weinfeld, and Richard Palmer, Raquel reportedly described James in terms that suggested a lasting emotional connection, sometimes referring to him in ways that echoed the idea of a “Prince Charming” figure from her teenage years.
This sentiment reflects how formative their high school relationship and early marriage were to her, even decades after their lives took entirely different directions.
Did James Westley Welch Remarry?
Public information about whether James Westley Welch remarried after his divorce from Raquel Welch is limited and not clearly confirmed. Unlike Raquel, who remarried multiple times over the following decades, James kept his personal life almost entirely private following their separation.
No verified public records detail a second marriage, additional children beyond Damon and Tahnee, or a documented long-term partner. This lack of publicly available information is consistent with the fact that James never sought a public-facing career the way his former wife did.
James Westley Welch’s Net Worth
There is no verified, publicly confirmed figure for James Westley Welch’s personal net worth. While some reports connect him to business success following his years as a tuna fisherman, including references to a leadership role in a large company by the 1970s, none of these claims have been independently confirmed through reliable financial records.
Because James avoided the public spotlight throughout his adult life, detailed financial information about him was never widely reported or verified the way it typically would be for a public figure.
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Social Media and Public Life
James Westley Welch does not appear to maintain any verified public social media presence, including on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, or X. This absence is consistent with the private life he chose to lead after his marriage to Raquel Welch ended.
While Raquel spent much of her life in the public spotlight as an actress, James stepped back from that world almost entirely, and there is no indication that he ever sought public attention through social media or media appearances in later life.
Interesting Facts
A few additional details help round out the picture of who James Westley Welch was and how his life connected to Raquel Welch’s story.
- He and Raquel shared “You Send Me” by Sam Cooke as a favorite song during their teenage relationship.
- James left La Jolla High School during his senior year to work as a tuna fisherman before marrying Raquel.
- Despite their divorce in 1964, Raquel kept the surname Welch for the rest of her career.
- James reportedly reconnected with Raquel in 1977, roughly 15 years after their separation.
- Raquel Welch died on February 15, 2023, at age 82, having spoken about James as her first love years after their marriage ended.
- Both of their children, Damon and Tahnee Welch, went on to build careers in entertainment, following in different ways from their mother’s path into Hollywood.
James Westley Welch’s story remains closely tied to Raquel Welch’s early life, even though he chose to live largely outside the public eye for the rest of his own life. From his beginnings as a San Diego tuna fisherman to his brief but formative marriage to one of Hollywood’s most recognizable actresses, his life reflects a quieter contrast to the fame that followed Raquel Welch for the rest of her career.
