He was her first real love. But their love scared her. She feared for his life.
He was abusing substances, and she worried that if she left him, he would die. Robert Downey Jr. and
Sarah Jessica Parker were madly in love throughout the 1980s. They even had plans for a wedding.
But eventually, Downey's addiction to drugs and alcohol destroyed their relationship.
Stay tuned for this one, Juicers, cause we're going to take a deep dive into their
relationship and find out how Sarrah Jessica finally got the strength to leave Robert.
Sarah and Robert met in 1984 while filming 'First Born.'
They acted alongside each other, and their romance kicked off pretty quickly.
They fell hard and fast, and it didn't take long for the new couple to decide to move in together.
They were both only 18 years old at the time, but that didn't stop them
from taking their relationship very seriously. Downey was Parker's first real relationship,
which makes sense since they were both so young.
But the actress even went on to claim that she'd ever been on a real date until she met Robert.
Sarah later revealed that her relationship with Downey "taught her how to love."
Downey was clearly smitten with Parker at the time.
"I'm really happy with Sarah, and I don't want to ruin it by planning too far ahead.
But the way I feel now, marriage looks like where we're headed."
The actress described her time dating Robert as 'really adventurous and important,
and they made sure to have as much fun together as they could. Parker admitted
they'd throw water balloons at their neighbors from the windows of their Hollywood house.
The neighbors would then retaliate by spraying the couple with a garden hose. "
You have to run to each window and hope you get there in time to close it.
It's very immature, I know, but fun," Sarah Jessica shared.
However, despite moving into a beautifully decorated Hollywood mansion and trying to
live like adults, it wasn't always rainbows and butterflies for the two. The actress even
confessed that at times, her relationship with Downey was 'genuinely scary.' A dark looming cloud
began to circle around the couple as Robert fell into a struggle with drug and alcohol addiction.
Parker also admitted that she "didn't know" about Downey Jr.'s addiction "for a long time."
"I was like,
'Why is his heart beating so fast? Don't do so many pushups before bed!'" she recalled.
His battle with illegal substances started to take a toll on the couple, and their relationship began
to crumble. According to Parker, she only stayed with Downey because she "didn't want him to die.
Things were falling apart just as quickly as they started, and soon,
the couple was in a toxic cycle that Sarah didn't know how to escape.
In an interview, Downey admitted his "drug problem" killed his relationship with Parker.
According to the actor, love was not enough to keep their relationship afloat.
Robert admitted that he knew he had a problem with addiction, and Sarah Jessica didn't like
it at all because 'it is the furthest thing from what she is.' He explained
that she tried to help him, and she would get upset when he couldn't get his act together.
He added, "I was in love with Sarah Jessica. And love clearly was not enough."
When asked about her relationship with Robert, the actress confessed, "I felt like I had entered an
alternate universe of really scary associations and a habit that had become genuinely scary."
The saddest thing of all was that Sarah Jessica felt like there was no way out. Their relationship
had hit rock bottom, and the situation was devastating. No matter how hard she tried to
help him, Robert seemed to sink deeper and deeper into his addiction. Parker claims she only stayed
in her relationship with Downey because she was terrified that if she left him, he would overdose.
The actress explained, "I'd never seen drugs,
done drugs, or been around drugs. I think I was naive. I wasn't innocent, but I was naive."
Sarah also thought that she could handle everything that was being thrown at her.
She thought that she would be able to help Robert through his addiction and get him to be sober. She
didn't understand how his addiction had gotten and that he needed to go to rehab. Eventually, after
almost eight years together, the actress realized she had no choice but to leave him. She realized
that she had fallen out of love with him and was only staying in the relationship out of fear.
"The biggest, hardest choices about those kinds of relationships are feeling brave enough to leave,
even if you think they're going to die."
The actress also explained that her relationship with Downey taught her how to be a parent.
"Because the things that I ended up caring about,
and the way I cared for Downey, were things that might be more suitable for a parent."
However, the actress made sure to add that she doesn't regret a thing about her eight
years with Downey, despite the struggles and heartache she faced. And according to Downey,
he doesn't blame Parker for leaving. In his own words, he was "so selfish"
throughout their relationship, and he believes she deserved better.
In an interview, Downey credits Parker for helping him get his act together and for teaching him how
to become more practical. Even Robert's father says that his son would've been hopeless if it
weren't for Sarah Jessica. "I thank God for Sarah Jessica Parker," says Robert Downey Sr.
"Without her, Robert would go at 100 miles an hour into a brick wall."
Robert and Sarah Jessica officially split in 1991,
after the actress claimed she was able to 'summon up the courage to leave him.
The actor still had a long road of recovery ahead of him, but after a stint in prison for
drug possession, Downey committed to sobriety in 2002 and has remained sober ever since.
The former couple both went on to marry other people, but their relationship remained ingrained
in Hollywood history as an epic romance. Parker married Matthew Broderick in 1997.
The two dated for five years before making it official. They invited 100 of
their closest friends to New York for what the guests thought was a party. Instead,
Parker walked down the aisle in her now-iconic black wedding dress. They also went on to have
three children together and will be celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary this year.
Downey married Deborah Falconer in 1992 and had a son together. But they split a few years later due
to the actor's continued struggle with addiction. However, after committing to a life of sobriety,
he later married producer Susan Levin in 2005 and credited her with turning his life around.
"She told me, 'I'm not doing that [drug] dance with you. I'm drawing a line in the sand here.'
She was absolutely clear about it." He added that it wasn't as though anyone else had told
him the same thing. But this time, he took it seriously. He cared about what she thought of him,
and he wanted to be the best version of himself for her. He said this time; it was different
because he really wanted a different life for himself, and he wanted her by his side.
Robert and Susan later went on to have two children together
and live blissfully happy on their farm with loads of animals.
Over two decades after his split with Jessica,
Downey revealed he wanted some 'closure' on his time with Parker and had dinner with the actress.
Robert was even introduced to Parker's three children.
He said that for once, he wanted to take care of some 'personal business'
as opposed to something that was required of him.
He wanted to check in with her because she was someone he shared a big part of his life with.
The actor shared, "Seeing her I was like, 'She's so great and so cool
and so funny and so in command. I got to meet her kids and I saw
the way she and Matthew live and I respect both of them so much.'"
Sarah Jessica also spoke about their reunion, "It was really nice. It was
surprisingly not weird … we were 18 when we met and fundamentally we are sort of the same.
I think the difference is he has a family and a wife and obviously his career is a massive thing,
but I think his true nature — it was completely familiar."
The actress also shared that she wants nothing but the best for Robert,
saying, "I always felt very affectionate towards him. I thought it ended well in the
way we broke up. I never didn't care about his well-being … I never felt resentment."
Despite the dark time they shared in their relationship, neither Jessica Parker nor Robert
regrets their time together. They were young and in love and had a lot of life lessons to learn.
Parker learned that she needed to put herself first, while Robert learned that he was stronger
than his addiction and was able to turn his life around for the better. They still maintain
a huge amount of respect for each other, and they're both grateful for their time together.
We're so happy to see that they both moved on with their lives
and found a love that brings them a huge amount of joy. And of course,
we couldn't be prouder of Robert for being able to overcome his addiction.