Ted Danson And Mary Steenburgen: Love, Lessons, And Life Together

Let me tell you a story about love, resilience, and second chances. Picture this: Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen meet on a five-hour canoe ride along California’s Big River, filming the not-so-remembered 1994 movie Pontiac Moon. The magic happened right there, in the rhythm of their paddles. “We paddled in sync,” Ted recalls to Closer. “We went out as friends and by the time we came back, we were in love.” Now, that’s what I call a romantic adventure.

What makes their story even more heartwarming is the fact that both Ted, now 70, and Mary, 65, had faced their fair share of relationship challenges before they met. They had both given up on finding love again. “I announced to all my friends—not dramatically, but very seriously—that I was done with relationships,” Mary shares, at the time a single mother of two. Meanwhile, the twice-divorced Ted felt the same way. “Ironically, life works in mysterious ways,” he reflects. “When you finally surrender, that’s when life surprises you with unexpected blessings.”

Lessons from a Young Life

Ted’s early life shaped him into the man he is today. Growing up as the son of a professor who ran a Native American history museum outside Flagstaff, AZ, Ted learned some invaluable life lessons. “As a child, I was given this unspoken message that we had nothing,” he remembers. “We didn’t have TVs, and I looked like a ragamuffin. But my dad worked hard, and we had enough for necessities. Money was never the goal.” Despite the lack of material wealth, Ted’s childhood was rich in love. “There wasn’t a single day that went by without being told I was loved,” he says.

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A Journey Through Fame and Challenges

Ted didn’t always have it easy. Excelling in both academics and athletics, he earned a degree in drama from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. But his path to stardom wasn’t straightforward. He struggled for years as an actor, best known for being "The Aramis Man" in cologne ads. A breakthrough came in 1981 with the film Body Heat, leading to his iconic role as the recovering alcoholic ex-baseball player turned bartender, Sam Malone, on Cheers. The show catapulted Ted to superstardom, earning him 11 Emmy nominations and two awards. However, his personal life wasn’t as smooth. His first marriage to actress Randy Gosch ended after five years, and his second marriage to producer Casey Coates faced immense challenges when she suffered a stroke during the birth of their daughter.

“For the first month, all I did was cry,” Casey recalls. “I gave Ted permission to leave me. I thought I’d be a burden for the rest of my life.” But Ted stuck by her side, helping her relearn how to walk. Together, they adopted another daughter, Alexis. Despite their efforts, the trauma of the stroke created a rift between them. “There was a massive lack of trust,” Ted admits. “We were adjusting to being different people after everything that happened.”

A Painful Public Affair

The final blow to Ted and Casey’s marriage came when Ted had an affair with Whoopi Goldberg, his co-star in the 1993 movie Made in America. It became a public embarrassment when Ted appeared in blackface at a Friars Club roast, trying to lampoon their interracial romance. The fallout was devastating for Whoopi. “It was real painful, and it was very public,” she says. “The loss of his friendship hurts a great deal.”

Love Finds Them Again

A year after his split with Casey, Ted met Mary. At first, she didn’t think much of him, having watched Cheers during her divorce from actor Malcolm McDowell. She assumed Ted was just like Sam Malone—shallow and a playboy. That perception changed during their first meeting when Ted showed her his new hair extensions for Pontiac Moon. “My first thought about him is, this is the most ridiculous creature I’ve ever met in my entire life,” Mary laughs. But Ted had other ideas. “And she was mine from that moment on!” he jokes.