In 1983 Pulitzer's divorce from her husband, Palm Beach-based newspaper tycoon Herbert Pulitzer (who was the heir to the Pulitzer, Inc. fortune and had also been married to Lilly Pulitzer), began to receive coverage in the international news. Although many of the headlines about her were unfavorable, others simply referred to her as "Foxy Roxy".

Pulitzer is the author of novels Prize Pulitzer, Facade, Twins and the The Palm Beach Story. She later adapted her The Prize Pulitzer: The Roxanne Pulitzer Story (1989) into a made-for-television movie written from her point of view.

She also parlayed her tabloid, news and talk show fame into an appearance on the June 1985 cover and interior of Playboy Magazine. The $70,000 she received as a result went to pay her divorce bills.

Roxanne was a former cheerleader from Cassadaga, New York. Her first husband was Peter Dixon, whom she left while they were living in South Florida. She met Pulitzer at a party, married and had twin sons, Mae and Zac.

The marriage remained intact for five years. In 1982, Herbert sued for divorce. Roxanne was granted custody in an emergency hearing. Circuit Judge Carl Harper slapped a gag order on all parties involved, to little effect.

Herbert's main accusation was that Roxanne wrecked their marriage with adultery and drug abuse. Both claimed that the other had had sexual encounters with Jacquie Kimberly, the wife of James Kimberly, heir to the Kleenex fortune.

Judge Harper eventually granted Herbert Pulitzer custody of the children. Roxanne appealed three times but was unsuccessful.

In 1992, she married again, to aspiring speedboat racer John Haggin Jr. Previously, she had been seeing Jean Comte de la Moussaye.