Sam Elliott was too shy to speak to Katharine Ross – now, they’ve been married 40 years
There are some celebrity couples who just seem perfect.
Many of them are so in love that it’s hard to imagine one of them without the other!
Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross are just one of those partnerships. Keep reading to find out more about their decades-long marriage!
Sam and Katharine – early days
Katharine Ross had experienced four marriages and divorces before finding lasting love with Sam Elliott. Their journey began on the set of the 1969 Western drama Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where Elliott, despite his admiration for Ross, hesitated to approach her.
“I didn’t dare try to talk to her then. She was the leading lady. I was a shadow on the wall, a glorified extra in a bar scene,” he told AARP in 2015.
Despite the initial distance, Elliott found himself captivated by Ross, spending his time on set observing her performances from a dark corner. It took a decade for them to finally cross paths again during the filming of the horror film The Legacy, where they played a couple terrorized at an English estate. This time, interaction came naturally.
Ross, in an interview, explained that what drew her to Elliott was his baritone voice, mustache, and rugged good looks, stating (via Country Living): “Probably all that and more. We were working together, and one thing led to another. And here we are.”
A long-lasting love story
Their love story eventually turned into marriage in 1984, marking Ross’s fifth and Elliott’s first. The couple welcomed their daughter, Cleo Rose, the same year they exchanged vows.
When questioned about the secret to their long-lasting marriage, Elliott told AARP: “We have a common sensibility, but we also work at being together. You work past the [expletive]; you don’t walk away from it. That’s how relationships last.”
Elliott, who had expressed a desire for marriage, family, and a successful movie career, acknowledged his gratitude for having achieved all three. Reflecting on their enduring relationship, he shared to NPR: “We – I think really what it boils down to is we love each other, and we work at it. And I think more importantly than anything, it takes wanting to be married.”