Carol Burnett and her husband have a low-profile bond lasting over two decades. He once encouraged her to finish a project she and her daughter had started before she passed away. The same man later became a legal guardian to Burnett’s grandson during a family crisis.
Carol Burnett’s third marriage began without fanfare, but it soon became central to the most private parts of her life. Brian Miller, 23 years her junior, entered her world when major changes were happening. Just weeks after their wedding, the couple faced a sudden family tragedy. What followed showed the quiet role he would continue to play.
Over the next two decades, Brian’s presence grew in ways that went beyond their marriage. He stood by Carol during a creative project tied to grief and later joined her in a legal step to protect a child in their care. Their relationship has remained mostly out of view, but its impact has been clear in the moments that mattered most.
Carol was born on April 26, 1933. She rose to national fame through her work in television, most notably on “The Carol Burnett Show.” Before meeting her current husband, she had already experienced two marriages and became a mother to three daughters.
Her first marriage was to actor Don Saroyan. The couple wed in December 1955 and divorced in September 1962. Don was known for his roles in films such as “Cuban Rebel Girls” and “Blast of Silence.” He passed away in November 1990.
Just months after her first divorce, Carol married producer and director Joe Hamilton in May 1963. Joe, a central figure behind “The Carol Burnett Show,” was the father of her three daughters: Carrie, Jody, and Erin. The marriage eventually ended in divorce as well. Joe died in June 1991.
Carol met Brian in the late 1990s while she was in Long Beach, California, for a show. At the time, Brian was working as the principal drummer and contractor for the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra. Their relationship began quietly and outside the public eye.
When they married, Carol was 68, while Brian was 45, making him 23 years her junior. Carol addressed the age gap directly and said, “He’s funny and not easily intimidated. As we get older, the gap between our ages narrows. If you were 40 and married a 20-year-old, I don’t think you could communicate like [we do].”
In a separate conversation, she joked, “You’re looking at a cougar, uhuh.” She also said of Brian, “He’s a throwback. He’s terrific, he’s got a wonderful sense of humor and a great career. We just like the same things, and so it’s a very happy relationship.”
By the time they met, Carol had been single for several years. Her daughters were grown, and her career remained active. What began as a chance meeting would later become a long-standing partnership, unfolding during a time of great personal change. At the center of this change was Carol’s eldest daughter, Carrie.
Carrie Hamilton, Carol’s eldest daughter, struggled with drug addiction as a teenager. Carol later shared that she placed Carrie in three different rehabilitation programs before she got sober at 17. “I put her in a third rehab place, and oh my God, she hated me,” Carol later recounted. “I came to the conclusion that I had to love her enough to let her hate me.”
After her recovery, Carrie pursued acting and writing. She starred in the television series “Fame” and occasionally worked alongside her mother in theater and television. Carol said they eventually bonded through their creative collaborations and worked together on three productions.
One of those projects was a play based on Carol’s memoir “One More Time,” which the two co-wrote. Carol described her daughter as someone who liked to connect with others. She said Carrie would offer homeless people $10 in exchange for their stories and use them as material for her writing.
“She never met a stranger,” Carol would later recall. “She also loved to write.” By the early 2000s, the play she and Carrie had written was entering production with director Hal Prince. During this time, Carrie’s health began to decline. Around the same period, Carol and Brian decided to tie the knot.
After dating for several years, Carol and Brian married on November 24, 2001. Tragically, just two months later, on January 20, 2002, Carrie passed away at 38. Her cause of death was pneumonia, stemming from cancer that began in her lungs and spread to her brain.
Carrie’s death was so devastating for her mother that it left her unable to get out of bed even though the play they had written together, “Hollywood Arms,” was preparing for its world premiere. It was Brian who encouraged her to move forward. “My husband[…] said, ‘Carol, you owe this not only to Carrie but you owe it to Hal to finish,'” she recalled.
Soon after, Carol and Brian flew to Chicago for previews at the Goodman Theatre. On the plane, Carol said a short prayer to Carrie, asking for a sign that she wouldn’t be alone. When they arrived at their hotel, a large bouquet of birds-of-paradise flowers was in the room.
“She had a bird of paradise tattooed on her right shoulder,” Carol said. She later learned that Hal had asked hotel staff to send something “exotic.” The next evening, Carol, Brian, and Hal went to dinner, and the maître d’ brought a complimentary bottle of champagne.
The label on the bottle said “Louise,” Carrie’s middle name, and Carol’s mother’s name. On opening night, it rained. “Carrie and I were nuts for the rain,” Carol said. Those details stayed with Carol. So did Brian, who remained a steady presence in her life in the years that followed.
Over the years, Carol and Brian have kept a low profile, rarely making public appearances. In interviews during the early 2020s, Carol described a quiet, structured life at home and revealed how they spent their time together. “We do crossword puzzles. We read. We watch television. We go for walks. We have a cat. Her name is Nikki,” she said.
Carol also shared that they often rewatched favorite films, including “Singin’ in the Rain,” which she said she knew “by heart.” She added, “I can always watch it again—and again and again.” She mentioned regularly tuning in to the news and named Jake Tapper, Rachel Maddow, and Randy Rainbow among their preferred broadcasters.
One of the few public sightings of the couple occurred in May 2022 when they were seen celebrating Mother’s Day at a restaurant in Montecito, days after she turned 89.
An onlooker said, “Whenever Brian spoke, Carol was laser focused on him. They sat there singing and humming little show tunes together and laughing while they waited for their meal; it was very cute.”
As they left, Carol held onto Brian’s arm while they walked slowly toward the valet stand. In addition to their quiet life at home, Carol and Brian took on a more formal responsibility together during a family crisis.
Speaking about the project, Carol said, “When they called me about doing it, I didn’t even have to read a script. I said, ‘I’m in.'” She also hoped the show would be renewed for a second season to keep her working into her 92nd year.
“As long as I have fun, and that’s what I want,” she said. “I always approach it as something new that I’ve never done before, so I’m just happy to be working and that I’ve got all my parts. I have my hips and my knees — and I think my brain — so as long as I can keep that up and work, then I want to work.”
More than two decades after their wedding, Brian stays out of the spotlight while remaining closely connected to Carol Burnett’s day-to-day life. Their time together has included family challenges, personal losses, and steady routines — but also work, travel, and creative commitments.
