They have been together for over 40 years, but have never felt the need to marry. Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell have built a relationship based on freedom, mutual respect, and the ability to accept each other’s differences. The actor recently explained as much to People, telling the magazine, “When I say freedom, it means liberation. I don’t feel penned in.” Theirs is a balance built over the years, despite their respective strong characters and different views. “We don’t always agree on stuff, which is fine,” Hawn added. “We’re both very spontaneous. [Our relationship] fed on a lot of goodness, a lot of wonderful life together.”
The two met in 1966 on the set of the film The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, but it was not love at first sight between them. The feeling was not born until fifteen years later, when they found each other on the set of Swing Time. They have not left each other since then and have been a steady couple since 1983. Over time they have built a large extended family: Goldie is the mother of Kate and Oliver Hudson, who were born to her ex-husband Bill Hudson, and Kurt has a son, Boston, born of his marriage to Season Hubley. Together they had Wyatt Russell, born in 1986.
Hawn explained that one of her main goals has always been to convey serenity to her family. “My life’s mission is to be happy,” she said. “My life’s mission is to be an example for my children and my family.”
“As you get older, things can get harder,” she added. “Your state of mind matters. How you look at life matters, how you value moments in your life matters, because you’re feeding your own brain.”
Kate Hudson also spoke about the special relationship between the two in a 2024 appearance on The Howard Stern Show. “They’ve been together 40-plus years. They are like the center of our family,” Hudson said. “Now, as they’re getting a little bit older, their relationship is so cute … I can’t stand it. Kurt just adores my mom. He just loves her so much.”
As for why they never made it to marriage, Hawn explained it with a metaphor in an appearance on The Dan Buettner Podcast. “I have a relationship with birds,” she said. “I’m a bird. And you leave the cage door open, I may never fly out. But if you close that door, for my freedom and my independence, I would probably take all my feathers off.”
Originally published in Vanity Fair Italia.
