Kurt Russell Reflects On First Date With Goldie Hawn — ‘I Put My Worst Foot Forward’

Feb 02, 2023

Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell are one of Hollywood’s most enduring couples. Hawn turned 77 years old in 2022, while Russell is five years her junior. Over the course of almost four decades together, the pair have built a beautiful, blended family full of talented individuals.

Hawn and Russell have an adorable and loving relationship, and their obvious affection for each other is more akin to a pair of teenage sweethearts than a couple that has been together for 40 years. While Hawn and Russell have both been married to other people before settling down together, they themselves have never been married. Instead, they have enjoyed and are still currently enjoying a long-lasting and fulfilling relationship – even without exchanging vows.

The couple is also well known for their big family, which consists of Hawn’s two children from her first marriage: Oliver Hudson and Kate Hudson. Russell’s son Boston Russell is from his first marriage. The couple also has a joint son together named Wyatt Russell. Somewhat unsurprisingly, most of their children have followed their famous acting parents into show business and have also gone on to have children of their own – making Hawn and Russell grandparents.

Many people have wondered how Hawn and Russell have managed to have such a happy and long-lasting relationship, especially in Hollywood. Fortunately, the couple is very open about their partnership and frequently expresses their affection for each other. Let’s take a look at their relationship over the years, what it looks like today and how they manage to keep things fresh and exciting. The pair also recounted their somewhat awkward first meeting to CBS Sunday Morning.

In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning that was released on Nov. 15, 2020, Russell revealed he was "horribly hungover" the first time he met actress Hawn.

The two sat down for an interview with CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Tracy Smith to promote their Netflix Christmas movie, “The Christmas Chronicles 2,” which came out on Nov. 25, 2020. The duo teamed up on-screen again more than 30 years after shooting the 1987 comedy “Overboard” together. Hawn had made a brief cameo aptly as Mrs. Claus in the first The Christmas Chronicles back in 2018 but plays a central figure in the sequel alongside Russell as Mr. Claus.

Besides the film, Russell and Hawn also discussed their relationship with Smith. The couple reflected on their long-standing romance and shared that the first time they met was in 1968, during the filming of “The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band,” a Disney musical. Hawn was 20 years old at that time, while Russell was only 15 and “didn't even have a car” and “didn’t have a (driver’s) license." 

“I was 21 and he was 16,” Hawn recollected in a BBC interview in 2012. “I thought he was adorable, but he was much too young. Then, years later we met up again, and I remembered that I liked him very much when I first met him. We both said we would never go out with another actor so it just shows you never can tell.”

The two reconnected in 1983 when they were matched to act in “Swing Shift.” According to Yahoo! Entertainment, they were both divorced at that time and had already become parents. They then embarked on what is now a four-decade-long relationship.

But having gone through a failed marriage, Russell told Smith he had been determined to undermine his relationship with Hawn, especially in the initial stages: “Matter of fact, when I met Goldie, I was at a time in my life, and a period in my life, when I was going to put my worst foot forward when it came to any kind of a relationship with the possibility of a relationship,” the father-of-two said. 

Russell revealed he had consciously decided not to get too invested from the start.

“I put my worst foot forward. If you can handle that, then maybe there’s a chance of some reality there of being together.”

This seemed to take Hawn by surprise as she replied: “You put your worst foot forward? I could hardly say that." Russell insisted that he did. He admitted he had been hungover the first time he met her: “Well, the first time I met her, I was horribly hungover. That’s not a good foot forward," to which Hawn told Russell, "But you were fun."

Even though they have both been married before and have now been together for 39 years, the pair have no plans of marrying each other. 

Hawn openly discussed the topic in a 2007 interview with Woman’s Day magazine. When asked why they won’t head down the aisle, Hawn responded: 

“Because we have done just perfectly without marrying. I already feel devoted and isn’t that what marriage is supposed to do? So as long as my emotional state is in a state of devotion, honesty, caring and loving, then we’re fine.”

The couple share one biological son together, Wyatt Russell. They are also grandparents to seven children.

Hawn is reportedly close to all of her grandchildren. In an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2014, the grandmother of seven shared that she had been present at all their deliveries, saying: "I was there for all the grandchildren's births.”

The New York Times reported that, during the pandemic, the couple counted on each other for support. They were seen going on walks together around the Los Angeles area in masks and also partaking in online video challenges, which included one of Hawn dancing to “Hey Ya!” by Outkast in the kitchen to getting tickled by Russell for a “laughing challenge.”

“I like to dance with Goldie every once in a while, but I can’t tell you how little I care about social media,” Russell told The New York Times.

When asked what the secret to their enduring relationship was, the two actors shook their heads and said there was no secret. “You’ve got to want to be together," Hawn advised. Russell shared her sentiment, saying, “It’s up, and down, it’s sideways, it’s whatever. At the end of the day, how do you explain it? ... It’s the same thing as what you’re saying. I call that love.”

Like many Hollywood couples, Russell and Hawn have weathered breakup rumors over the years, but that hasn’t brought the couple down one bit.

“You can actually survive a relationship in a way that when you get older you go, ‘(Sigh) I’m so glad I got through whatever period that was,'" Hawn told Smith. "Relationships go through periods, sometimes really hard times. But there’s nothing sweeter than having a family, and that is worth everything.”

What do you think about Kurt Russell's behavior on their first date? Are you surprised they've been together for as long as they have? Let us know your thoughts and pass this along to friends and family, too.