Elliott Gould Gets Candid About Marriage With Ex-Wife Barbra Streisand: ‘We Didn’t Grow Together’

Elliott Gould got candid about his highly publicized marriage with ex-wife Barbra Streisand. Although fans once thought the two would be together forever, the Long Goodbye actor said they eventually grew “apart” during their eight-year relationship in the 1960s.

“Barbra asked me at one point, because she’s still writing her [memoir], she said, ‘Why did we grow apart?'” the 82-year-old shared with CBS Sunday Morning on October 18. “And I said my question would be, ‘How could we have grown apart?’ The answer to that is that we didn’t grow together, and the reason for that was because she became more important than us.”

The Funny Girl star, 78, and Elliott first met when Barbra was 19 years old at the time they were working on Broadway. The former couple married two years later in 1963 and started their family when they welcomed their only son together, Jason Gould, in 1966. Looking back, the M*A*S*H alum has no regrets about the romance.

“I also said to her, ‘We did great,'” Elliott sweetly revealed during his TV appearance. “We made it very fast and nobody has what we have. There’s you and me and our kid.’ We had a great life.”

Following their divorce in 1971, Barbra spent nearly two decades focusing on her iconic Hollywood career before she settled down with her second husband, James Brolin, in 1998. As for Elliott, he tied the knot with Jennifer Bogart in 1973 but called it quits shortly after in 1975. The pair, who share kids Samuel and Molly, rekindled their romance in 1978, but they divorced for a second time the following year in 1979.

While the Yentl actress has been living a life of bliss with the Amityville Horror star, 80, since they exchanged vows over two decades ago, she still shares an amicable relationship with Elliott. In fact, the Ocean’s Eleven actor will “always” have his ex-wife’s back.

“I’ve said to her: ‘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,'” Elliott exclusively shared with Closer Weekly in 2017. “People will presume how things should be, but things are the way they are. To me, it’s all about us. It’s not about any one part.”

Despite the unconventional family tree, the Academy Award nominee said he’ll always care for the A Star Is Born alum. “Barbra is a very significant part of my life, no less significant than the rest of my family,” Elliott confided to Closer. “Jason is the light of our lives. Barbra adores him. So we have contact. She’s happily married to James Brolin. And he is very nice to me.”