Harry Connick Jr. and Jill Goodacre have been through their fair share of rough patches and have come out stronger.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 6, 2021. It has since been updated.
Even if marriages are made in heaven, not everybody is good at reading the signs from heaven. It might be one of the reasons we end up with the wrong person. However, there are some folks who are in tune with their hearts and follow the path it leads them on. Actor, singer, and composer Harry Connick Jr., 55, and his model wife are among those people.
Connick Jr. met his Victoria's Secret model wife, Jill Goodacre, 59, in 1990 when she was at the height of her career. He saw her at the Sunset Marquis Hotel in Los Angeles when he was swimming and she passed by on her way to check out. The singer revealed that he fell for her at first sight, according to Countrythangdaily. It took all his courage to introduce himself to her.
“She is such an amazing beauty that the physical attraction was so strong. I never saw anybody that beautiful in person before," the American Idol alum recalled. Even for Goodacre, it was love at first sight. She knew she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him "within 30 seconds of meeting him," writes Countrythangdaily.
She revealed that she called her mother, world-renowned sculptor Glenna Goodacre, that night and told her that she's found the person she will marry. Even though their attraction towards each other was strong, they waited four more years to get married. They tied the knot at the incredible St. Louis Cathedral in front of 300 guests.
For the Harry show host, his wife is his best friend, and that is the secret to their long-lasting marriage. "For me, it’s all about my maintaining interest in her. I mean, she’s fascinating to me, she’s still mysterious to me," he said. "I’m still very interested in her and everything that sort of makes her tick, and I think it’s mutual," added the Will & Grace alum.
The multi-platinum recording artist, who is a father to three daughters, believes that he attracts strong women in his life. "All of the women I have been attracted to for various reasons have been very strong, like my sister and my mother and my wife and my manager. That's why that works for me," he said, as per The National News. The couple has three daughters, Georgia Tatum, 24; Sarah Kate, 23; and Charlotte, 18, who are all strong women just like their mom.
Goodacre and Connick Jr. have been through hardships together, which make them a strong couple even now. In October 2012, the former model went for her annual mammogram and then she had to go for a sonogram, reported People. She underwent a biopsy and it was found that she had Stage 1 invasive ductal carcinoma. She had to undergo a lumpectomy immediately.
Unfortunately, the lumpectomy "didn’t come back with clean margins," she said. "So I had to go in for a second surgery the very next day. And then radiation absolutely wiped me out. And since then there’s been the Tamoxifen, which I’ve now been taking for five years," she added in 2017.
Tamoxifen is an estrogen modulator and it helps prevent the development of hormone-receptor-positive breast cancers. However, it has its own side effects like weight gain. "I’ve always been a pretty fit person, and so to be just rounder and heavier and not to really be able to do much about it — that’s been hard. It’s taken a lot out of my self-confidence," she said.
Her husband remained supportive through her battle with cancer. "It’s a part of how the cancer and the treatment impacted her, and it was a real issue, even though she will always be the most beautiful woman in the world," added Connick Jr.
The P.S. I Love You actor "was scared" he "was going to lose her." He lost his mom to ovarian cancer when he was 13. "I wasn’t going to let her see that, but I was. I know from losing my mom that the worst can happen. She’s my best friend, and I really don’t know what I would do without her," he added. For the mother-of-three, telling her daughters was the hardest part. "It broke my heart," she shared.
Now, it's been several years that she has been in remission and they continue to keep an eye out by having regular health check-ups. When it comes to keeping their relationship strong, Connick Jr. tries "to walk the walk and improve and be a good a person" as he can be, as per Countrythangdaily.
References:
https://www.countrythangdaily.com/harry-connick-jr-and-jill-goodacre-love-story/
https://www.countrythangdaily.com/jill-goodacre/
https://www.thenationalnews.com/arts-culture/a-rare-voice-harry-connick-jr-1.600992
Cover image source: Getty Images | Photo by (L) Andrew Kent, (R) David Livingston
