Barbra Streisand and Elliott Gould enjoyed one of the most iconic love affairs of the
late '60s.
By the early '70s, however, their eight-year marriage had ended in divorce.
Here's a look at what led up to their split.
In 1961, two young actors met during auditions for the Broadway musical "I Can Get It For
You Wholesale."
One of them, Gould, had been cast as the show's leading man.
The other, Streisand, was auditioning for a supporting role and was understandably nervous—she
was still new to showbusiness.
But Gould fell head over heels for her the second they met.
The pair got serious fast—not only considering how long they'd known each other, but also
how old they were.
When they met, Streisand was only 19, and Gould was only 23.
They quickly moved in together, and were married less than two years after their courtship
began.
But it seems like their haste to tie the knot was also the first blow against their relationship.
Tellingly, Gould once confessed to "Playboy,"
"The happiest memories I have of Barbra are when we were living together before we were
married."
The relationship that followed was more complicated.
Speaking to "Time" in 1970, just before they filed for divorce, Streisand and Gould both
shared insights about what had and hadn't worked about their marriage.
Gould explained,
"Marriage to Barbra was a fantastic experience.
It had a lot of chocolate souffle and things like that, but it was also like a bath of
lava."
Streisand, meanwhile, expressed some empathy for her husband, saying,
"It must have been difficult for him.
Marriages between people who are self-involved is hard.
It's safer for actors not to be married to one another."
From 1963 onwards, the two encountered many significant personal and professional obstacles—starting
with Streisand's meteoric rise to stardom, which left her new husband in the dust.
1963 was a monumental year in Barbra Streisand's career.
Not only did she marry Gould, she also released her Grammy-winning breakthrough album, "The
Barbra Streisand Album," as well as a second album just months later.
But it was Streisand's Tony-nominated performance as Fanny Brice in the 1964 Broadway musical
"Funny Girl" which cemented her reputation as a giant in the industry.
In 1968, she reprised her role in the Hollywood adaptation of the musical, winning the Academy
Award for Best Actress.
In a 1970 "Newsweek" profile, the author wrote of Streisand's performance,
"Would I make a fool of myself by calling it the most accomplished, original and enjoyable
musical comedy performance ever put on film?
I searched my memory and finally decided that, what the hell, it simply was the greatest;
why not say so?"
She immediately followed up her success by performing the title role in Gene Kelly's
film adaptation of "Hello, Dolly!"
Throughout the late '60s and early '70s, Streisand repeatedly established herself as a formidable
star of stage and screen.
But clearly, that fast rise to the top put more than a little strain on her marriage.
Though Elliott Gould enjoyed some roles on Broadway and in Hollywood, his success paled
in comparison to his wife's career.
He was even regularly referred to by the press as "Mr. Streisand," a moniker that eventually
drove him crazy.
Speaking to "CBS Sunday Morning" in 2020, Gould explained why it was that they'd grown
apart.
"We didn't grow together, and the reason for that was because she became more important
than us."
But there was more to it than simply feeling overshadowed by the colossal stardom of his
other half.
Gould also felt stunted with the role of Mr. Streisand.
He told "The Guardian,"
"I couldn't play the part.
I had to be able to find myself, to be able to be myself.
I couldn't let myself live in a mold."
For his remaining years as "Mr. Streisand," Gould focused on breaking out of that mold—making
controversial choices in the process.
Did his behaviour in these years have an impact on his declining marriage?
In the early '70s, whispers about Elliott Gould's offscreen behaviour began to spread.
In 1971, Gould was set to co-produce and star in the comedy "A Glimpse of Tiger."
But according to "The Guardian," the film immediately faced problems, allegedly due
to his excessive drug use and volatile behavior.
He fought with the film's director, and scared his co-star so badly that the production hired
additional security.
After four days, the project was abandoned.
Speaking to "The Independent" about that period in his life, Gould admitted,
"For a while I was not employable."
After two long years without work, director Robert Altman offered him the leading role
in "The Long Goodbye"—but only on the condition that he undertake a psychiatric evaluation.
In 2012 Gould told "The Independent,"
"Somebody had once asked me [...] if I had ever had a drug problem.
And I said, 'No, I didn't have a drug problem, I had a problem with reality."
Meanwhile, Streisand was dealing with problems of her own.
While people whispered that Elliott Gould was unprofessional on set, gossip columnists
openly reported that his wife was a prima donna.
A "Good Housekeeping" interview with Streisand from 1969 describes the media response to
the new star:
"The gossip columnists declared war on Barbra Streisand mostly on the theory that what was
up must be brought down.
The kooky image was replaced by one that was a good deal more harmful in its inaccuracy:
it painted her as a snobbish, stingy, monstrous movie star."
Streisand pushed back against this depiction.
"Good Housekeeping" quoted her as saying,
"Don't believe anything you read about me."
In a rare interview with Barbara Walters in 1975, she opened up about her struggle with
the popular image of her as a diva.
"I really try to sort of scan my mind and figure out what it is that I do or have done
that has, um...
"What do you think it is?"
"...made people…"
Understandably, media distortion of Streisand's marriage caused problems, as well.
In an interview with the "L.A. Times Calendar" soon after her divorce, Streisand shared,
"I'm vulnerable to that sort of thing.
I hate it.
People tell me to forget about it, not pay any attention to it.
But [...] how can I be vulnerable in my work and not be vulnerable about things like that?"
But media speculation was not the only thing complicating Streisand's relationship—a
wandering eye for her male co-stars caused problems, as well.
There must be something special about Nicky Arnstein, the male lead in "Funny Girl"—because
Streisand got involved with the man playing him not once, but twice.
The first time, according to biographer William Mann, was while Streisand was performing in
"Funny Girl" opposite co-star Sydney Chaplin, the married son of silent film comedian Charlie
Chaplin.
The biography suggests that the affair with Chaplin was short-lived and that Streisand
was the one to put an end to it.
But the 1964 production suffered as a result—as the stars' affair fizzled, so did their chemistry.
And despite receiving a Tony nomination for his performance, Chaplin eventually departed
from the cast and lost interest in the stage—a result, according to "The Guardian," of difficulties
with Streisand.
Three years later, another Mr. Arnstein caught Streisand's attention—her co-star in the
musical's movie adaptation, legendary actor Omar Sharif.
"Gorgeous."
"I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, I mean, uh, your shirt!
Oh, it's absolutely the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen in my life!"
According to the "Daily Mail," the pair had a brief affair while on the set of the film.
Although they parted ways when the shoot ended, the fling seems to have further complicated
Streisand's marriage to Gould—the couple separated just a year later.
As Elliott Gould's marriage crumbled, his career finally began to hit its stride.
His first major success on the silver screen came with 1969's "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,"
which he starred in alongside Natalie Wood, Robert Culp, and Dyan Cannon.
His performance in the comedy, about two couples experimenting with free love, would earn him
an Academy Award nomination.
His success continued the following year with his role as an army surgeon in "M*A*S*H,"
Robert Altman's Academy Award-nominated Korean War satire.
"Look, Mother, I wanna go to work in one hour.
We are the pros from Dover, and we figure to crack this kid's chest, and get out to
the golf course before it gets dark."
And despite the couple of chaotic years immediately following his divorce, the '70s saw him gain
career momentum that continues to this day.
His long and varied filmography includes celebrated performances in "California Split," "The Long
Goodbye," "Capricorn One," "Friends," "American History X," the "Ocean's" heist series, and
"Ray Donovan."
The actor formerly known as "Mr. Streisand" stepped out of the shadow of his ex-wife's
larger-than-life legacy and went on to make an incredible career for himself.
Or, as his biography on the "TCM" website puts it,
"As his marriage disintegrated, it seemed Gould's time had come, professionally."
Meanwhile, Barbra Streisand did not do too badly for herself following the fallout of
her marriage—and that's putting it mildly.
At age 79, the performer is still considered one of the biggest icons of the stage and
screen in modern history.
Following her successes of the 1960s, she made strides in every medium.
On screen, she put her own spin on a familiar tale in 1976's "A Star is Born," and stepped
behind the camera for the first time as the director of 1983's "Yentl."
As a performer, she has enjoyed five successful concert tours between 1993 and 2017.
And as a recording artist, she has released an impressive 36 studio albums, not to mention
a number of compilations and live albums.
According to "Forbes," Streisand's net worth was an astonishing $400 million as of 2020,
and she remains the only performer ever to have a No. 1 album released in six consecutive
decades.
Professional success aside, Streisand has also enjoyed a full and impressive love life.
According to Christopher Andersen's unauthorised biography "Barbra: The Way She Is," the performer
allegedly enjoyed brief romances with Warren Beatty, Kris Kristofferson, and even Prince
Charles following her divorce from Gould.
Finally, in the mid-'90s, Streisand met actor James Brolin when friends set the couple up
at a dinner party.
"We talked—we huddled—that whole night.
Nobody ever got a chance to talk to her that night."
The couple married on July 1, 1998, and have remained together to this day.
While he was separated from Barbra Streisand, Elliott Gould found love again with Jennifer
Bogart, an actress who has always lived well under the pop culture radar.
But their relationship was not without its own problems—the two had married and divorced
twice by 1989.
However, they appear to maintain a relationship of some kind.
In 2020, Gould told "The Guardian,"
"[I] will be married to Jenny forever—until she can do better."
Regardless of what went down between the two, it would appear that Elliott Gould and Barbra
Streisand would eventually become close pals, and by all accounts were committed to the
co-parenting of their son, Jason.
In 1973, Streisand was already reflecting positively on her relationship with Gould,
telling The New York Times,
"Once you have loved someone, they become part of what you were and therefore part of
what you are."
Though "The Jewish Chronicle" describes a period when the pair weren't speaking to each
other, time has appeared to have healed all.
Chatting with the outlet in 2010, Gould appeared to agree with Streisand's sentiment.
He said,
"I have only good things to say about her.
I'm real proud of Barbra.
She said some time ago that we'd always be a part of each other.
I know what she means.
I'll always love her."
By all appearances, they've made their post-divorce relationship work for themselves, and their
large family, which has grown to include Brolin, Bogart, Jason, and Gould and Bogart's children
Samuel and Molly.
It also includes Emmanuel Bujold, Gould's son by the actress Genevieve Bujold.
In 2017, Gould confessed to "Closer,"
"I've said to [Barbra], 'I know you're married to someone else now and I only wish you well,
but this is a small family unit and you're a part of it, so I'll always be there.'
Barbra is a very significant part of my life, no less significant than the rest of my family."
They may not have enjoyed a fairy tale ending to their romance, but from the sounds of it
they found their own happy ending in their own way and their own time.
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