Jeff Bridges just can’t help but keep falling in love with his wife of 44 years,
Susan Bridges. He was head over heels from the moment he set eyes on her. The actor even keeps
a special memento with him at all times from the day they met. Today, we’re talking about one of
the longest-lasting couples in Hollywood, their unbelievable love story, including their very
unusual first date, the struggles they faced and the joys they are always happy to share.
Jeff and Susan Bridges have built one of Hollywood’s most enduring marriages.
And it all started in 1975 when he was making a movie, Rancho Deluxe, in Montana.
He was shooting a scene in the hot tub at a place called Chico Hot Springs when he first
saw his future wife. North Dakota native, Susan, was waiting tables there to pay for college.
Not only was she gorgeous, but she had two black eyes and a recently broken nose (from a
car accident, he later learned). Something about her beauty and disfigurement kept Jeff riveted.
Every time he snuck a peek, she’d catch him. “I knew I was madly in love with my wife the
minute I saw her,” Jeff told Conan O’Brien on his late-night show.
Bridges admitted asking Susan out wasn’t the easiest thing and that once he finally got
the courage, she said no. However, she added that it’s a small town, and she might see him around.
Those words proved to be prophetic. “She came to the wrap party,
and we danced and fell in love and boom, that was it,” he said.
The next day, Bridges had a meeting scheduled with a local real estate agent who was going
to show him some property, and he invited Sue to come along. That was their official first date.
The future couple went to look at a ranch house on the river. As they were walking around,
there was a voice in Jeff’s head, going, “You are now looking at a house with your future wife. And
I thought, ‘Oh, no, let me outta here.’ “ The actor felt cornered, not by Sue but
by himself. He couldn’t bear to let the love of his life slip through his fingers,
but at the same time he was afraid of declaring, ‘This is the one!’
“I was crazy in love, but I came from such great parents and didn’t know if
either Sue or I had that in us.” After filming wrapped, she moved back to California with Jeff.
Although Jeff and Susan Bridges have been happily married for 44 years, there was once
a time when the actor was terrified of commitment. According to Bridges, it was love at first sight,
but getting to the altar was quite tough. When he was young, Jeff thought marriage was
a giant step toward death. “I don’t know how it is for women or other guys, but when I was young
and in my 20s, I had a fear of marriage,” he wrote in Reader’s Digest back in 2006.
So, he did everything in his power to resist it — the idea was just frightening to him.
But when Susan told him she wanted to get married and start a family, he just knew what to do.
“I said, ‘Oh God, I can’t let this woman go,’” Jeff said. “I had this vision of an
old guy thinking there was this girl from Montana, man, why didn’t I marry her.”
They were married just five days after he proposed, on June 5, 1977.
Two years after they met, the couple tied the knot and are now the proud parents to
three daughters — Isabelle, Jessica, and Hayley — and grandparents to Grace and Ben.
According to the Daily Beast, they’ve also worked on 50 movies together. Wow, that is impressive.
While it required a leap of faith, it all worked out. “What you don’t know until you
get married is that you think all the other doors close, which is true, but this doorway
you open is a hallway lined with all these other brilliant doors — kids, deeper intimacy,
adventures, and everything else,” Jeff said. After Jeff and Susan had been married for about 10
years, the actor received an unbelievable photo in the mail from a Rancho Deluxe crew member.
He got a letter from the makeup artist, who said he took two pictures of the moment the future
couple first spoke to each other. Awwwwwwww, how romantic is that? Wouldn’t you want to have such a
memento from the first time you met your love? Bridges keeps one in his wallet to this day.
“Somebody just took a picture of that and I have that,” he said.
Last year, Jeff teamed up with his daughter, Isabelle, for a new children’s book,
Daddy Daughter Day, which she wrote, and he illustrated. The book is about a dad and daughter
who go on a series of adventures and is based on the close bond Bridges has with his girls.
Isabelle says her parents’ marriage has served as an inspiration to her.
“They love each other, but they like each other. They spend time together. They make
an effort to ask each other questions about what the other is interested in,” she revealed.
Jeff himself says that his marriage is getting better and better every year. But
that doesn’t mean it was always easy. The pair used to fight often, but eventually
developed a simple solution for improving their communication. They simply chat about
what’s bothering them — letting the other talk until they’ve finished, with no interruptions.
“We are quite different as people, and we celebrate that rather than making it
drive us apart. I respect her wisdom, and I’m sure the girls do too,” says Bridges.
“I’ve really been blessed.” They have often been asked about
the secret of longevity in a Hollywood business that is notorious for breaking up relationships.
So what is the secret to their 44-year marriage? According to the actor, when certain challenges,
upsets come up in a relationship, they are real opportunities to get to know each other more
and to become more intimate with each other and try to see what makes each other tick.
Cheating and divorce just aren’t for him, Bridges says. “If you change partners every time it gets
tough, or you get a little dissatisfied, then you don’t get the richness that’s available
in a long-term relationship,” he said. “My wife supports me, and it makes me
love her more. We’ve been doing this so long, and we care for each other so much,
that our relationship is the most precious thing for both of us,” Bridges said.
He’s also learned so much from his wife. For instance,
Bridges is often frightened of getting involved in new projects. And Sue will remind him, “Hey,
you always get like this when you’re asked to do something new.” And he’ll say, “You’re right;
that’s just what I do.” It’s a simple thing — she shows him another way of looking at something.
The famous star was undoubtedly facing one of those big challenges when he began treatment for
the big C. In October 2020, Bridges announced that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma,
a type of blood cancer. Knowing he had his wife
and daughters in his corner has given him strength as he began treatment.
“I’m profoundly grateful for the love and support from my family and friends,” he tweeted.
At the time, he said the prognosis was “good”. Thankfully, in September 2021, Jeff said that
he was in remission and that the 9-inch by 12-inch mass had shrunk to the size of a marble.
He linked it to another update, which explained that he contracted COVID-19
while receiving chemotherapy treatments. “COVID kicked my ass pretty good, but I’m
double vaccinated and feeling much better now,” he wrote on his website. “I heard that the vaccine
can help folks with Long Haulers,” he said. “Maybe that’s the cause of my quick improvement.”
As it turns out, Bridges and his wife, Sue, got sick and shared an ambulance to the ICU.
Is this love or what? She was hospitalized for 5 days,
and he was hospitalized for 5 weeks. “The reason I’m there so long is because my immune system
is shot from the chemo,” he said. “My dance with COVID makes my cancer look like a piece of cake.”
Although Bridges had moments of “tremendous pain” and felt he was “gettin’ close to the pearly
gates,” he said he felt happy and appreciated life. He also said that he had needed oxygen
assistance to walk around, but with the help of therapy, he could meet his goal of walking his
daughter down the aisle at her wedding. He was also able to enjoy the father-daughter
dance without oxygen assistance. “The sound it makes reminds me of Darth Vader,” he said.
And while Bridges has been an acclaimed movie star for almost 50 years, with seven Oscar nominations
(and one win for 2009’s Crazy Heart), he says his family has been his life’s greatest joy.
“Time goes so fast, and it’s so precious,” says Bridges.
“To spend it with people you love, there’s nothing richer than that.”
That’s all we have for you today, Juicers! Which celebrity couple that defies Hollywood
standards do you want us to talk about next? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
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