The actor credited his wife Tracy Pollan for being with him through thick and thin.
For almost three decades, Michael J. Fox has been content and in a relationship. The 61-year-old actor discusses the key to his marriage with Tracy Pollan, which he calls "the best 35 years of my life," in an interview with ET's Rachel Smith. Sam, 33, Schuyler, 28, Aquinnah, 28, and Esmé, 21, are four of Fox and Pollan's "beautiful kids," according to ET Online. Fox and Pollan first met on the set of Family Ties. Fox told the outlet that Pollan has been his secret weapon throughout, and that without her he'd "be dead." He said, "We give each other space to make mistakes. Always remember that. Don't perceive slights...That's what's beautiful about marriage, it's us two."
However, it wasn't always simple; this is something that is discussed in Apple TV+'s new documentary, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie. Before meeting Pollan, when Fox initially immigrated to the United States, "it was a tough few years" for him. "We didn't have a lot of money. I was dumpster diving because I knew the grocery store would throw baked goods out. We'd steal jam and peanut butter from the IHOP or Denny's. It was a tough existence," he said as he shared what life was like before the Teen Wolf actor shot to fame.
"But in a relatively short period, I was famous and I was the biggest movie star in the world... It was crazy. It made no sense," he continued. Sharing about the documentary the actor reveals how he got married, "There's a scene in the film where I am kind of a bit of a jerk, which I'm happy they showed. Tracy kind of steered me in the right direction. And then we got married." The 61-year-old actor remarked, sharing how his life completely changed.
After receiving a Parkinson's disease diagnosis not long after, as Fox puts it, "it got interesting." He used alcohol as one strategy for coping with his health problems. Learning to laugh while in pain was also a requirement of the bargain, though Fox concedes that it may occasionally be "hard." Fox, who hasn't had a drink in 30 years, said, "I was just clearly using alcohol to cover the disease... I had a really difficult time, but the reason I shared this is this is part of the deal. Laughing is always my first response to anything….It's just looking for joy in things. It helps to have a family that [supports you]."
Fox also started a foundation following his diagnosis. "The thing I think my legacy is, and I'm really grateful for, is the fact that there's a woman from 25 years ago who couldn't go shopping because she couldn't speak properly, and she couldn't find change in her purse, and she was afraid people would think bad things about her like she was drunk and that kind of stigma. [I get to] take that pressure off people," he said. "They say, 'He has it. I know him. I know that you're going through [this]. That's huge,” he said about how he was now a "part of a community" who had the same disease.
References:
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Frazer Harrison
