Clint Eastwood’s first marriage was also his longest. He married Maggie Johnson in 1953, and while they legally separated in 1979, they didn’t get a divorce until 1984. Perhaps befitting the future movie star, the pair’s first meeting was extremely cinematic. “I came down the stairs of the sorority house, and [Clint] had his back to me,” Johnson described the occasion in Richard Schickel’s book “Clint Eastwood: A Biography.” “When he turned around, I was amazed at what he looked like. Plus, he was understated, and that kind of appealed to me.”
The first meeting was supposed to be a casual double date, but something clicked. Eastwood and Johnson started dating, married, and had two children. However, they may have been together for a long time, but their domestic life wasn’t always blissful. Eastwood’s first marriage was marred by a lengthy affair with actor and stuntperson Roxanne Tunis, which Johnson knew about. He also had a relationship with another actor, Sondra Locke, during the last years of the marriage.
After Eastwood and Johnson legally separated, the children stayed with her while Eastwood lived on the other side of the street. Though lifelong romance wasn’t in the cards, the exes have remained on great terms over the years, seeing as Johnson attended the premiere of Eastwood’s 2018 movie “The Mule.”
