The legendary singer-songwriter Paul Simon opens up about being “exhausted” from “emotional upheaval” in an old interview featured in the documentary In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon. In a more recent documentary of the same title, Simon revisits his whirlwind marriage to Carrie Fisher, shedding light on their challenges as a couple.
He said, “In the middle of the reunion tour with Art Garfunkel, I got married. I married Carrie Fisher.” Simon details their complexities, acknowledging the difference between their experiences with fame. Fisher’s portrayal of Princess Leia in the 1977 blockbuster “Star Wars” and its sequels brought her fame.
What Did Lorne Michaels Say About Carrie Fisher?
In an interview, Saturday Night Live Creator Lorne Michaels, a longtime friend of Paul Simon and best man at his marriage to Carrie Fisher, discusses their relationship dynamic. He said, “Carrie was much more show business-oriented. I went along with that — that’s the world she grew up with; she was used to it.”
He continued, “She was used to a lot of press and things like that. It wasn’t intimidating or anything. She knew how to manipulate it and make it work for her. She was really good at it, and I wasn’t.”
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Reflecting on their engagement in Greece and honeymoon in Egypt, Michaels noted that he was seasick for three days—at the rail praying for death. Aside from that, he said it was a really fun time.
Michaels also said, “There were lots of things that were remarkable about the time, but it was two people at career peaks, and that’s always complicated. All of it was kind of a whirlwind. Carrie was in a complete fame bubble because of ‘Star Wars.’”
Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher’s Divorce
The couple, who had met in the late ’70s while Fisher was filming the first “Star Wars” movie, were divorced by July 1984. Following their divorce, Simon admits, in a documentary interview, the intensity of their relationship left him feeling drained.
In hindsight, Simon acknowledges the challenges of balancing personal life with the demands of fame, lamenting their union’s lack of foresight. He shares that marriage requires focus and prioritization, emphasizing the importance of learning from mistakes amidst the pressures of public scrutiny.
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He says, “Marriage is a hard thing to do. You have to concentrate on — not everything can happen at once. Not everything is a media event. All types of mistakes on top of mistakes on top of mistakes.”
He adds, “I realized I could become exhausted by — I could exhaust myself from emotional upheaval.” In 2016, before Fisher’s passing, she was asked in an interview if she thought the marriage was the “wrong thing to do.”
She responded, “Yes.” Then said, “Well, because I think, if you look at me, at the most, you can think I’m an interesting girlfriend. But a wife? I think you’re going to be disappointed. Poor Paul. He had to put up with a lot with me.”
“I think, ultimately, I fell into the heading’ good anecdote, bad reality,’” she continued. “I was really good for material, but when it came to day-to-day living, I was a little more than he could take.”
Life With Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher Post Divorce
Despite their divorce, the duo maintained an on-and-off relationship for several years before parting ways for good. As described in Peter Ames Carlin’s biography “Homeward Bound: The Life,” their relationship was marked by arguments interspersed with laughter, stressing the complexity of their connection.
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Carlin noted one scene where they yelled at each other and stopped just as abruptly because they were “laughing too hard to snarl anymore.” Following their separation, Simon found love again, marrying Edie Brickell in 1992 and raising three children together.
Meanwhile, Fisher started a relationship with talent agent Bryan Lourd, with whom she birthed actress Billie Lourd, 31. The news of Fisher’s passing in 2016 left Simon devastated. He took to Twitter to express his grief, remembering her as a “special, wonderful girl” in a heartfelt tribute.
Simon and Fisher’s relationship was filled with love and laughter. Moreover, it shows how loss emphasizes the difficulties of human relationships amidst fame and fortune.
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