When you think of Curtis Sliwa, your mind probably jumps straight to the red beret, the Guardian Angels, or maybe his high-profile 2021 run for New York City mayor. He’s a guy who lives his life in the headlines. Whether he's fighting crime on the subway or living in a small apartment with more than a dozen cats, he’s an open book. Most people know about his later marriages—especially the ones that played out in the tabloids—but there’s one chapter that almost nobody remembers.
If you go back to the very beginning, before the fame and the political drama, there was Koren Drayton.
Most folks mistakenly assume Lisa Evers was the first. She wasn't. Curtis Sliwa first wife was actually Koren Drayton, a woman who entered and exited his life long before the Guardian Angels became a household name. This isn't just a bit of trivia; it’s a look at the man before he became "The Curtis Sliwa" the world knows today.
Who Was Koren Drayton?
Honestly, finding information on Koren is like trying to find a needle in a haystack. While Sliwa’s later partners, like Lisa Evers or Mary Galda, were public figures in their own right, Koren has stayed completely out of the spotlight for decades.
Here is what we actually know: she was Caribbean-American, originally from the Virgin Islands. At the time they met, she lived in Brownsville, Brooklyn. That’s a far cry from the media-heavy life Sliwa lives now in the Upper West Side. They were young. Very young.
They tied the knot in 1976. This was the mid-seventies in New York—a time of grit, disco, and a city that was frankly falling apart at the seams. Sliwa was just finding his footing as a community organizer and a guy who wanted to change the city.
A Marriage That Didn't Last
The marriage wasn't exactly a marathon. In fact, it was more of a sprint. They were married in 1976 and divorced by 1977.
One year.
That’s all it took for the relationship to dissolve. Sliwa has been pretty blunt about this in rare interviews, stating that he hasn't spoken to her since the divorce went through. It was one of those youthful decisions that didn't stick. While his later breakups involved lawsuits, "nest eggs," and very public accusations, his time with Koren Drayton was quiet. It ended as quickly as it began.
Why Do People Get This Wrong?
It’s easy to see why the Curtis Sliwa first wife keyword often leads people to Lisa Evers. Lisa was a powerhouse. She was a martial arts expert, a black belt, and a prominent journalist. When they married on Christmas Eve in 1981, they were the ultimate New York power couple. They were the face of the Guardian Angels.
Because Lisa was so visible during the most iconic years of Sliwa’s career, the history books—and the internet—tends to skip over the 1976 marriage to Koren. It feels like a "pre-fame" glitch in the system.
But if you want the real timeline, it looks like this:
- Koren Drayton (1976–1977): The brief, early marriage.
- Lisa Evers (1981–1994): The high-profile era of the Guardian Angels.
- Mary Galda (2000–2012): A marriage that ended in a massive legal battle involving Melinda Katz.
- Nancy Regula (2018–Present): His current wife, an animal rights activist.
The Brownsville Connection
Think about the context for a second. In 1976, Brownsville was a tough neighborhood. It still is, but back then, the "Night Owls" (the precursor to the Guardian Angels) were just starting to take shape. Sliwa was working at a McDonald’s on Fordham Road in the Bronx—the "Rock 'n' Roll McDonald's."
It’s likely that his marriage to Koren happened while he was still just a guy from Canarsie trying to figure out how to be a hero. By the time he really hit the big time with the red berets in 1979, the marriage to Koren was already a memory.
What Happened to Her?
The short answer? We don't know. And that’s probably how she wants it. Unlike Mary Galda (who later married former Governor David Paterson) or Melinda Katz (the Queens District Attorney with whom Curtis has children), Koren Drayton never used the Sliwa name to build a public platform.
She moved on. Sliwa moved on to Lisa Evers, whom he reportedly fell for after she accidentally broke his foot during a Guardian Angels demonstration. (Talk about a "meet-cute," right?)
Lessons from the Sliwa Marriage History
Curtis Sliwa's romantic life is basically a mirror of his public life: chaotic, high-energy, and full of surprising turns. But the fact that his first marriage was so brief and quiet says something about how much a person can change.
If you’re digging into the history of the Curtis Sliwa first wife, it’s a reminder that even the most public figures have private beginnings. Koren Drayton is a footnote in New York City history, but she was there at the very start of the Sliwa story.
Key Facts to Remember
- Koren Drayton was the first wife, not Lisa Evers.
- The marriage lasted only about 12 months (1976-1977).
- She was from the Virgin Islands and lived in Brooklyn.
- Curtis hasn't maintained contact with her since the 70s.
If you're looking for more info on the Guardian Angels or the wild history of 1970s NYC activism, checking out Sliwa's own memoirs or the archives of the New York Post from that era is your best bet. Just don't expect to find much more on Koren—she seems to have mastered the art of privacy in a way her ex-husband never quite did.
To get the full picture of Sliwa's evolution, you should look into his early days at the Bronx McDonald's where he started the "Rockin' Rangers." That's where the transition from a married man in Brownsville to a city-wide vigilante leader really began. It's the missing link between his quiet first marriage and the loud, red-beret-wearing life that followed.