Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart are both Hollywood icons. Harrison is known for his monumental role as Han Solo in the Star Wars franchise and portrays patriarch Jacob Dutton in the Yellowstone prequel, 1923. Calista recently stepped back into the acting spotlight and is making a splash in Feud: Capote Vs. the Swans. With a relationship that spans over two decades, it turns out their path to long-term romance came at the most unexpected time.
Harrison and Calista first met at the 2002 Golden Globes, where she received a nomination for playing the titular role in Ally McBeal. He also had a big night at the event as the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award. At the time, the Indiana Jones star was in the midst of a divorce from his second wife Melissa Mathison (which was later finalized in 2004).
Apart from Harrison and Calista's 22 year age gap (he was 60 and she was 38), he was also a dad to four children — Ben and Willard with his first wife Mary Marquardt; Malcolm and Georgia with Melissa. Meanwhile, Calista had just adopted her infant son Liam a year prior in January 2001. Still, sparks immediately began to fly when the two met at the major Hollywood event.
"I'm in love," Harrison told People in June 2003. "Romantic love is one of the most exciting and fulfilling kinds of love and I think there is a potential for it at any stage of your life. I was not surprised that I was able to fall in love, and I wasn't surprised that I did."
The couple was eventually spotted together during casual outings on his motorcycle and at red carpet events. Their relationship went to the next level on Valentine's Day 2009, when The Mosquito Coast star proposed to Calista after seven years of dating. It was also around this time that Harrison adopted her son Liam as his own, and he later spoke about how Liam always was part of the duo's relationship.
"I think Liam was about 6- or 8-months-old when I met him and Calista," he told Parade in January 2010. "We have been together ever since ... I wasn’t expecting it at all. The unexpected part was certainly true. And the joy part is also true."
Harrison and Calista made things official in June 2010, when the two wed in an intimate ceremony in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with Liam in attendance. While the pair continue to celebrate the good times together, they stuck by each other through tough times too. An avid pilot, Harrison got into a plane crash while flying over an L.A. golf course in 2015. Calista quickly rushed to her husband's side and stayed with him as he recovered.
The Supergirl actress later opened up to People about how difficult the incident had been for her family. "He loves it, so I love it, and I support him 100 percent," she told the magazine. "I think it just makes you realize once again that life can turn on a dime, and we just have to appreciate every second we’re here, because you never know."
But the longtime couple don't just discuss hardships they've dealt with throughout their relationship. They're also known to share more mundane details about their lives, like when Calista laughed about Harrison's limited texting skills during a 2015 appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! As for spending time with Liam, they leaned on each other after dropping him off at college in August 2020.
Above all, Harrison and Calista are still as in love as they were when they met more than two decades ago. As it turns out, he has an idea for how to still spice up their marriage — working on a project.
"We'd love to find one we could do together," he told Fox News in January 2023. "She's just going back to work after having devoted herself to the raising of our son, Liam, for the last 20 years ... [She's] enjoying going back to work. I'm hoping we will find something to do together."
But for right now, Harrison and Calista are enjoying their respective careers and this next phase of their life together. Harrison summed up the love they have for one another at the 2024 Critics Choice Awards, where he accepted the Career Achievement Critics Choice honor and expressed how much Calista means to him.
"I want to thank my lovely wife, Calista Flockhart, who supports me when I need a lot of support," he said. "And I need a lot of support."
As the entertainment and news editorial assistant for Good Housekeeping, Adrianna (she/her) writes about everything TV, movies, music and pop culture. She graduated from Yeshiva University with a B.A. in journalism and a minor in business management. She covers shows like The Rookie, 9-1-1 and Grey's Anatomy, though when she’s not watching the latest show on Netflix, she’s taking martial arts or drinking way too much coffee.