Only a select few knew about Jim Nabors’s sexuality until he married the love of his life. The actor once explained that their marriage was merely a formality prompted by legal issues they wanted to overcome.

For a long time, Jim Nabors kept his sexuality private, but he became more open about it later in life. He married his longtime partner, Stan Cadwallader, and they remained together until Nabors’s death. Here’s what we know about his story.

Being Publicly Closeted While Dating

Nabors, an Alabama native, first met Cadwallader, a former Honolulu firefighter, in 1975. Eventually, the firefighter began working for the actor, and the two started dating. During the 1960s and 1970s, Nabors worked full-time in Hollywood and revealed he was open about his homosexuality to friends and co-workers.

However, he never publicly acknowledged it until his marriage. He explained, “I haven’t ever made a public spectacle of it. Well, I’ve known since I was a child, so, come on. It’s not that kind of a thing. I’ve never made a huge secret of it at all.”

“The Andy Griffith Show” star insisted, “This is really no big deal. My friend and I, my partner, we went through all of this 38 years ago. So I mean, we made our vows and that was it. It was to each other, but nevertheless, we were a couple.”

According to the book “Rube Tube: CBS and Rural Comedy in the Sixties,” Nabors was confirmed to have been a closeted gay man publicly. Rumors circulated largely because he was not known to have romantic relationships.

At one point, various media outlets showed interest in the couple’s relationship. The actor’s advice for surviving that difficult time was, “If you have a person who has been your best friend for nearly 40 years, you better hold onto them, no matter what, because they are hard to come by in this life.”

During a phone interview, he explained that he was not shy about their relationship, “I’m 82 and he’s in his 60s and so we’ve been together for 38 years and I’m not ashamed of people knowing, it’s just that it was such a personal thing, I didn’t tell anybody.”

He continued, “I’m very happy that I’ve had a partner of 38 years and I feel very blessed. And, what can I tell you, I’m just very happy.” Before marrying, Nabors shared the reason for finally formalizing their union.

He said, “It’s pretty obvious that we had no rights as a couple, yet when you’ve been together 38 years, I think something’s got to happen there, you’ve got to solidify something. And at my age, it’s probably the best thing to do.”

Their discretion about their sexuality was likely influenced by the era in which they grew up. Nevertheless, Nabors’s family had realized early on that he probably would not end up with a woman, so his parents encouraged him to succeed by being himself.

After coming out publicly, the actor was asked to share his advice for young homosexuals starting to navigate their sexuality. He said, “I really don’t have any advice. I don’t think I’m qualified because I just could handle it my own way.”

“And you don’t ever understand what people look down on you, or say cruel things to you about that sort of thing, but nevertheless, that’s just life, and you just have to get above it,” Nabors stated.

Tying the Knot

When Nabors finally decided to marry his longtime partner, he preferred it to be a private affair. He also had no intention of making a statement on the national debate over same-sex marriage.

Before their official ceremony, they participated in a civil union ceremony in Honolulu in 2012. Nabors, the star of the 1960s show “Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C.,” married Cadwallader on January 15, 2013.

The actor, also a singer, married his partner of 38 years in a ceremony officiated by a judge at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle. Some friends who lived down the street from their home near Diamond Head, Hawaii, witnessed the ceremony.

They traveled there after same-sex marriage became legal in Washington state in December 2012. Back in Hawaii, Nabors explained their decision, saying, “I was just trying to solidify all of our years together.” He reiterated, “When you find a good friend in this life, you hang on to him.”

The year following their marriage, when the singer was congratulated, he said he and his “old good buddy” and “best friend” got married for “legal reasons.” He shared an incident that helped influence their decision.

One day, Cadwallader took Nabors to the emergency room. After leaving to park the car, Cadwallader could not find his partner because the hospital staff refused him access since he was not considered family.

Nabors thought the situation was absurd, which partially led to the marriage. He stated, “It’s nice to find your best friend that you can hang with all these years. If you do it for any other reason than that, you’re in trouble. If you can find one in this life, you’re a really lucky person.”

The star described their wedding as “very touching” but laughed off the idea that getting married changed anything, saying, “Oh please, nothing’s changed.” He elaborated, “Most of the things you promise, we got through that 38 years ago.”

Further addressing his reluctance to publicize the wedding, he said, “I am not an activist, particularly.” He also clarified, “I’m not a debater. And everybody has their own opinion about this and actually I’m not an activist so I’ve never gotten involved in any of this.”

However, he revealed his activist side by adding, “But I think every single human being has the right to choose the person they want to spend their life with. That’s not even an argument, it’s just a God-given right.”

At the time of their wedding, nine out of 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, had legalized same-sex marriage. Another 31 states had constitutional amendments restricting marriage to heterosexual couples.

According to a clerk in the King County Archives, Nabors’s marriage application and certificate were filed with the Thurston County Auditor in Olympia. The couple lived together in Hawaii for many years before the actor’s death.

The Couple’s Life in Hawaii

By 2015, Nabors and Cadwallader had been living and owning a home in Diamond Head, Hawaii, for 40 years. They often spent time on their enclosed patio overlooking the pool and a gate that led to a beach and a small cove.

Beyond the cove, they had a panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean. Nabors shared that he fell in love with Hawaii during a visit in the 1960s. He moved there in the 1980s and bought a macadamia farm.

During that time, the retired star battled various medical issues with his husband by his side. He dealt with severe asthma, hepatitis B, liver failure and transplant, knee reconstruction, and the implantation of a pacemaker and a new heart valve.

By then, Nabors had become a full-time Hawaii resident, with him and his husband planning not to travel farther than their farm in Hana. Speaking about their life, he said, “We live in Hawaii because we love it here. There is no reason to go anywhere else. There are no regrets, only gratitude.”

For Nabors’s 85th birthday and the 40th anniversary of their life together, the couple celebrated their significant milestones before the singer’s death and the sale of their house.

Losing Nabors and Selling Their Home

On November 30, 2017, Cadwallader lost his husband at age 87 after he died peacefully at their Honolulu, Hawaii, home. According to him, Nabors’s health had been declining over the past year, but he stayed by his side.

Nabors’s immune system had been suppressed since he underwent a liver transplant in 1994 after contracting hepatitis B. He got the infection in India several years earlier after cutting himself while shaving with a contaminated straight razor he had bought there.

In August 2018, it was revealed that the couple’s two-story Honolulu home was listed for $14.888 million. The 5,877-square-foot house sat on a 0.58-acre parcel southeast of Diamond Head.

Built in 1950, the house was two doors down from American heiress Doris Duke’s Shangri La estate. Overlooking Cromwell’s Beach, it featured five bedrooms, six bathrooms, and a second-story living room that opened to a covered lanai.

The first floor included a guest suite with an extra bedroom and bathroom. Its lounge area opened to the swimming pool, and across from the pool stood a cabana fitted with a wet bar. By January 2019, the property was sold for $12 million, $2.888 million less than the asking price.

Jim Nabors lived a fulfilling life alongside his husband, building a legacy of love, resilience, and authenticity. Their story remains a beautiful testament to enduring companionship against all odds.