Jamie Lee Curtis told her friend, "I'm going to marry that man," after spotting Christopher Guest's picture in Rolling Stone magazine.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Christopher Guest have been married for 38 years and it is rather fascinating to know that it all started with the actress one day flipping through Rolling Stone magazine and finding Guest's picture. She told her friend, "I'm going to marry that man," according to Oprah.com. Curtis's friend responded to her by saying that it was a picture of "Chris Guest." She added that "he's in a very funny new movie called This is Spinal Tap. I know his agent." The next day, Curtis called the agent and gave her number, and told him to have Chris call her if he was interested. She waited but he never called.
Curtis moved on in life and dated another man but that also didn't work out. After dropping him to the airport which she knew was the final goodbye, she went straight to a restaurant called Hugo's in West Hollywood to have dinner with her friends. To her surprise, Guest was sitting just three tables away. He waved to her which meant, "I'm the guy you called." She waved back and a few minutes later, he left. The next day, her phone rang and it was Guest. They had their first date just four days later on July 2, 1984.
After a month, Guest had to leave to tape a year of Saturday Night Live in New York and by then, they both had fallen in love. They got married on December 18, 1984. "Chris and I have a wonderful, complicated, imperfect life. And a very real marriage," she said.
When asked what's the secret to their marriage, the actress said, "Don't get divorced. "It's a fascinating thing. I could write a book on marriage called 'Don't Leave.'"
In 1985, Curtis and Guest wanted to have a family but had infertility issues, which led them to adopt their first child, Annie, in 1986. Curtis describes that moment as the most "profound and non-describable event of her life." The couple decided to expand their family further and adopted Ruby, who came out as transgender in 2020.
After more than 30 years in the marriage, Curtis said in an interview that she is "not a wild romantic. I'm a realist. I respect him. And I just don't leave," according to Good Housekeeping.
In 2020, while celebrating their 36th anniversary, Curtis wrote, "One of the longest relationships I’ve had seeking comfort and contact and connection is with Chris. Today marks the 36th anniversary of our wedding. My hand in his. Then and now. Connected through our children and family and friends it became the links in our human emotional chain that have seen each of us through triumph and tragedy."
References:
https://www.oprah.com/spirit/jamie-lee-curtis-aha-moment
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/entertainment/a22993869/jamie-lee-curtis-confidence-secrets/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Kevin Winter
