Bob Barker Proposed to Girlfriend Nancy Burnet Several Times, Publicist Says

Following his death this past weekend, Bob Barker’s publicist is revealing some details about the late game show host’s relationship with his girlfriend of roughly four decades, Nancy Burnet. According to ET, Roger Neal — one of Barker’s longtime reps — the former Price is Right host proposed to Burnet several times, but she never said yes. “Bob actually asked Nancy to marry him several times, she said no,” Neal told ET. “She was fine with the way things were. She loved being his companion, but he did want to marry her.”

Barker passed away on Saturday, Aug. 26 of natural causes. He was 99. Barker’s representative confirmed the passing to TMZ. Barker was born in Darrington, Washington, in 1923, but spent most of his early life on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, as he is listed as an official member of the Sioux tribe. He married his wife Dorothy Jo Gideon in 1945, but sadly she passed away in 1981 after a battle with lung cancer. Barker never remarried.

“I think, if you’re lucky, you find your soulmate and the love of your life,” Neal said, speaking about Barker’s relationships. “I think once you find that person some people don’t want to replace that. I just always felt with him that he had such love and respect for her.” He later added of Barker and Burnet, “They never lived together. They had separate residences. I think if he ever contemplated marriage again it would’ve been with Nancy for sure.”

Neal also shared that Burnet was a big part of Barker’s support system over the years, as he dealt with a variety of health issues. “I can’t stress enough the great care that Nancy took of him. It was around the clock,” Neal explained. “The fact that he got to stay in his home — the same house since the 1950s — to be able to live there his whole adult life and be able to be at home when he passed, I think it was very fortunate.”

“The last five years of his life she was completely devoted to making sure that his healthcare, that his care on a daily, around-the-clock basis, was the top,” Neal continued. “In my opinion, she is a saint for having done that. I don’t think anybody could have done the job she’s done. I think she was the absolute best person to take care of him.”