“We’re Not Siamese Twins, We Have Our Own Interests”

Robert Redford will be glad to talk about many things; environmental Controls, the plight of the American Indian, Equal Rights for Women—the list is long, for Redford is an intelligent and articulate man. But when it comes to talking about his marriage, America’s Number One male sex symbol might as well be mute. Redford’s 19-year-long marriage to the former Lola Van Wagene is a subject he simply doesn’t care to discuss with outsiders. Asked once how it feels to have the perfect marriage—for the Redfords’ enduring relationship seems as perfect as any—Redford only laughed and answered, “the same way that it feels to have a perfect divorce—there is no such thing!”

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What makes people think that the Redfords are so ideal together is the sense of both independence and harmony they project. Dividing their year between New York and Sundance, Utah, both Lola and Bob separate interests in social and political. issues. Bob encourages Lola’s serious involvement in Consumer Action Now; she doesn’t begrudge him his grueling stints on location.

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This is one couple who is secure enough to declare that they are not bound together in the literal sense; only in the emotional one. “Lola and I stay together because we’re strong, not because we are weak,” Redford allows. This ability to let go of a loved one is shared by all the Redfords—Shauna, 16, James, 13 and Amy, 7—each of whom, along with Lola and Bob, spend at least one day a year in the woods of Utah . . . “learning . . .”

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It is a quote. Superstar Special Magazine 1979