'Footloose' Star John Lithgow Vowed To Never Marry Again After A Devastating Divorce, But He Learnt To Love Again With His Second Wife
LIFESTYLE
'Footloose' Star John Lithgow Vowed To Never Marry Again After A Devastating Divorce, But He Learnt To Love Again With His Second Wife
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Footloose and Harry and the Hendersons star John Lithgow almost gave up on love after his first marriage ended.
Lithgow’s first wife, Jean Taynton, left him after 14 years of marriage in 1980 due to John being unfaithful with actress Liv Ullmann.
After causing the decay of his marriage, Lithgow vowed he’d never get married again, but fate intervened.
Who’s the woman that healed John Lithgow’s heart?
Although Lithgow decided to never marry again after going through divorce, the universe had different plans for him. In 1981, John tied the knot with Mary Yeager, with whom he’s madly in love with to this day, but how did that happen?
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In an interview with Pop Matters, the famous actor recalled how he met Mary:
We were fixed up together by an old mutual friend. She was teaching in L.A. and I was acting in New York with no intention of ever leaving.
It seemed very unlikely that John and Mary could build a relationship together, but Lithgow fell head over heels for her as they fit together like puzzle pieces:
We’re extremely different from each other. She’s a professor and I’m an actor, and those two people were never intended to marry. Their lives are so incongruous with each other. She’s feisty and combative, and I’m kind of phlegmatic and accommodating. We’re just very different. But I can’t imagine living without her, nor she me.
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Even after almost 40 years together, the Cliffhanger star says he’s the least happy when they’re apart, which sadly happens often. Mary is still a professor at UCLA, while John’s work takes him around the world.
Still, John Lithgow says Mary is his favorite person in the world and he’s the happiest with her.
John and Mary have a beautiful family
Lithgow and his wife defied the odds of long-distance relationship and managed to build a great family together. The couple share two children: son Nathan…
…and daughter Phoebe.
John Lithgow’s wife was a true blessing in his life and we’re so happy he didn’t give up on love.
