John Lithgow and wife Mary Yeager in 2021.Photo:Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty
Michael Buckner/Variety/Penske Media via Getty
John Lithgowis sharing the simple rule that has helped keep the spark alive in his 43-year marriage to wife Mary Yeager.
During an appearance onLive with Kelly and Markon Tuesday, Feb. 11, to promote his political thrillerConclaveand upcoming Academy Awards presenting gig, the actor revealed that Yeager made a rule for him “very early on” regarding gifts exchanged between the couple.
“She said, ‘Nothing useful’ — which I consider the most romantic gift ever,” Lithgow, 79, said.
Lithgow — who is among the new list of starsannounced as 2025 Oscars presenterson Tuesday — explained that his wife’s first husband gave her gifts like electric can openers. “So she’s gotten the rocks,” he joked.
From left: Kelly Ripa, John Lithgow and Mark Consuelos.Live with Kelly and Mark/Instagram
Live with Kelly and Mark/Instagram
Elsewhere in his conversation with Ripa, 54, and co-hostMark Consuelos, the3rd Rock from the Sunalum reminisced about first meeting Yeager, a retired UCLA professor, back in 1980. “We were fixed up together when I was out of work. I was rehearsing something in L.A. that shot in Texas and I flew out from New York. And a mutual friend of ours fixed us up,” he recalled.
Lithgow then recounted how he discovered a serendipitous detail when arriving at Yaeger’s house to pick her up for a date.
“I went to Harvard and she is from Montana, and when I went up to her door to pick her up, I noticed she lived at the corner of Montana Street and Harvard Avenue,” he explained. “I thought, ‘There might be something here.’ And actually, we were married about a year later.”
The six-time Emmy winner previously shared some details about the couple’s first date, tellingThe Guardianhe wasn’t exactly dressed for the occasion. “She knew of our lunch date, but nobody had told me. There I was, sweaty, in borrowed tennis gear," he said, remembering, “She looked a picture. It was love at first sight.”
He then joked, “Professors and actors are not supposed to marry. Our lives are so incompatible.”
John Lithgow and Mary Yeager attend the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards.John Shearer/WireImage
John Shearer/WireImage
Last year, Lithgow revealed another one of the couple’s marriages rules in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE: When he travels abroad to film a project, Yeager will join him and they turn the trips into mini vacations.
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“By that time, I sort of know what I’m doing and I’m no longer a nervous wreck. And then at the end of the job we go off on holiday somewhere,” he continued, adding, “It’s been completely wonderful.”
Lithgow and Yeager share two adult children — son Nathan, 42, and daughter Phoebe, 43. The actor also welcomed son Ian, 53, with his ex-wife Jean Taynton.
source: people.com
