The pair met on a blind date set up by their mutual friends
BARBRA Streisand and James Brolin exemplify a rare and enduring marriage in Hollywood, having been together for over 25 years.
Here’s everything to know about their relationship, from how they met to navigating life with their blended family.
When did Barbra Streisand and James Brolin meet?
Barbra Streisand and James Brolin met back in 1996 at a dinner party put together by their friends.
Per the Funny Girl star, she was surprised to see Brolin at the event.
“We were set up as a blind date, and I was so shy that I came into the house and I went downstairs to be with the children and play with them until I had to sit down at the table,” she shared on The Tonight Show.
“I expected a guy with a brown beard and brown, wavy hair, like a mountain man and I saw a guy that had all his hair cut off, no beard. And I walked by him. I put my hand through his hair and said, ‘Who f***ed up your hair?’”
Three months later, they made their red carpet debut at the premiere of the film The Mirror Has Two Faces, which starred Streisand, Jeff Bridges, and Pierce Brosnan.
Speaking with The Los Angeles Times, Streisand shared that she’s happy to have met Brolin after she wrapped up filming the movie.
“I couldn’t have met him while I was making this movie. I wouldn’t have been open,” she said.
“Once the movie was done and I could relax and edit the movie in my house, which is the fun part, I was open to a relationship again and it manifested itself.”
And while the two have busy schedules, they would make it a point to keep in touch, often through international calls.
“I remember falling asleep on the bathroom floor with the phone pressed against my ear,” Streisand told People.
The two are still together to this day, with Brolin telling ET that the secret to a long-lasting marriage is counseling.
“I do believe in counseling if anybody ever has a problem in their marriage. Bring in a referee, talk it over, and I swear to you, it will dispel by the end of the session, each time!” he said.
“Sometimes in a tough marriage, it’s tough to talk, but if you do, it works!”
When did the pair get married?
Streisand and Brolin tied the knot in July 1998 in Streisand’s home in Malibu.
They reportedly had a star-studded guestlist, which included the likes of John Travolta and Kelly Preston, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Marlon Brando, Quincy Jones, Sydney Pollack, and Donna Karan, who designed Streisand’s gown.
“It was probably the most beautiful wedding I’ve been to,” Travolta said at the time. “Kelly and I cried.”
“I’m the happiest person in the world,” said Brolin.
Do they have kids together?
Streisand and Brolin don’t have any kids together, but they have children from previous marriages.
Streisand shares a son, Jason, with her ex-husband Elliot Gould, while Brolin shares a son, Josh, and daughter, Jess, with his first wife, Jane Cameron Agee, as well as a daughter, Molly, with his second wife, Jan Smithers.
As of this writing, the couple now has four grandchildren, Eden Brolin, Trevor Brolin, Chapel Grace Brolin, and Westlyn Reign Brolin.
“She is really into it and I love that she is into it,” Brolin said of Streisand being a grandmother. “I mean, it’s like very typical Jewish grandmother who is saturated by this event. It’s awesome.”