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James Brolin said Barbra Streisand's blunt remark during a blind date 29 years ago sealed their fate
By Christina Dugan Ramirez
Published July 13, 2025
After 27 years of marriage, James Brolin still vividly remembers every detail of the blind date that led him to fall in love with his wife, Barbra Streisand.
"That night was something," Brolin, 84, told People about his first date with Streisand. "It was like somebody called and said, 'Would you be interested in a date with her?' And what I said was, 'I like what she says between songs,' and I was a real nut for women singers — especially jazz and bar singers and romantic singers at the time. So that got my interest."
BARBRA STREISAND, JAMES BROLIN REVEAL HE WAS CELIBATE FOR 3 YEARS BEFORE THEY TIED THE KNOT
The couple first met on a blind date in 1996. (Kevin Mazur/VF19/WireImage)
"I had been out of a marriage for three years and really saying, 'Who needs that again?' But we both agreed to go. We're on our way and halfway there, we both picked up the phone to cancel and something told us, 'No. Let's just do it.'"
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"We met there. I didn't look at all like she had thought I would because I'd been, for seven years, all bearded and curly-haired in ‘Hotel.’ She saw me and went, 'That's not the guy I came to see.' I had cut off all my hair. She finally came up to sit with all the people at the table and came behind me and said, 'Who f----- up your hair?'" he recalled.
Brolin and Streisand tied the knot in 1998. (Sonia Moskowitz/Getty Image)
"Well, that's when I fell in love. I thought, 'This girl tells the truth right from the beginning. I'm crazy about her,'" Brolin added. "And then we've really been pretty much together ever since then."
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Brolin, who married the love of his life in 1998, said Streisand has always been"very giving" throughout their marriage.
"One thing that she does that some women have a terrible time with is, 'Where were you? Oh, that only takes 20 minutes. You've been two hours.' Those kind of questions just destroy things. She never asked me anything," he said.
"And I just feel this incredible loyalty, because of it, and so that it brings you together. With her, I love everything she does. I love her choices. People argue with her about her choices and then in the end, when given enough time, they find out she was right in the first sentence."
Both Brolin and Streisand have praised each other throughout their relationship. (SGranitz/WireImage))
In her memoir, "My Name is Barbra," the legendary actress and singer explained why her marriage to Brolin works.
"I think the real reason our relationship has endured is that we’re both willing to work at it," Streisand wrote. "Jim and I are very different. As he’s said to me, ‘You’re an expert at looking for what’s wrong, while I’m just happy to wake up in the morning.’ (He’ll live much longer than me. He keeps saying he’s going to live to be 100, and recently upped it to 110. He probably will, with that attitude)."
Streisand was previously married to Elliott Gould between 1963 and 1971. Brolin was previously married to Jane Cameron Agee, and then Jan Smithers from 1986 to 19995.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/james-brolin-said-barbara-streisands-blunt-remark-during-blind-date-29-years-ago-sealed-fate