Steve Harvey Is ‘Worn Out’ Being a Father to 7 Kids: ‘Everybody Wants a Piece of Him’

Steve Harvey is desperate for some downtime with work getting more demanding and stressful, but his home life is equally frantic as his enormous family keeps him on his toes and runs him ragged.

The Family Feud host, 67, is a dad to seven children: twin daughters Brandi and Karli, as well as son Broderick Harvey Jr., whom he shares with first wife Marcia Harvey; son Wynton, whom he shares with second wife Mary Shackelford; and daughters Morgan and Lori, as well as son Jason, whom he shares with third wife Marjorie Harvey after he adopted her children from a previous relationship.

“He dotes on his wife and seven kids, but everybody wants a piece of him, and they’re never happy unless they’re with him,” a source exclusively tells Closer, pointing out that Steve was a busy boy on his recent “anniversary trip” with his wife.

“Even on holidays he’s on the hook to make arrangements, find hotels, choose the dinner place and make sure everyone’s getting along,” the source says.

And with a big, blended family like the one Steve has, disagreements between his brood are inevitable. “He puts out arguments when two or more get into a spat,” the insider shares. “He’s a policeman figure, organizer and chief, and he’s worn out.”

Marjorie, 59, whom he married in 2007 — more than a decade after the two met when the comedian was performing at a club in Memphis, Tennessee — does “a fair share” with the kids, says the source, but “it seems like it’s all on Steve to make the family run smoothly.”

After years of hosting TV game shows, it seems that Steve likes to be the one steering the ship. “Steve doesn’t do himself any favors by being controlling, though,” says the source. “He likes to have a say in everything, and phones are always going [off] at work. Steve never gets any rest.”

Adds the insider, “The kids adore their dad but they’re very high maintenance and want his time and approval. Steve’s the one that must hold them all together. It’s totally exhausting.”

On June 25, Steve and Marjorie celebrated their 17th wedding anniversary. “Happy 17th Anniversary My Love,” she captioned a carousel of images on Instagram of the couple on their tropical getaway.

Other photos on her Instagram show the blended family enjoying their summer vacation as they soaked up the sun on a boat. “More pictures from our Anniversary trip. Blessings upon blessings,” Marjorie wrote. “These three children manage to show up at some point on every Anniversary trip and turn it into a family/ anniversary trip.”

For his part, Steve also shared a sweet photo to Instagram of him looking into Marjorie’s eyes in celebration of their anniversary, writing in the caption, “I love you @marjorie_harvey.”

Prior to his relationship with Marjorie, Steve was married to Marcia from 1981 to 1994 and to Mary from 1996 to 2005.

“Marjorie changed the way I existed,” he told People in 2012. “I’d never been in a healthy adult relationship. I’d never been loyal, I’d never been fully respected.”