This article was originally published on Crafting Your Home. A human contributor also wrote and edited the post.
In a newly published retrospective interview with the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, veteran character actor Christopher McDonald pulled back the curtain on one of the most fascinating Hollywood love triangles of the 1980s.
Known for iconic roles in hits like Happy Gilmore, McDonald opened up about his mid-80s engagement to Oscar winner Geena Davis, how the engagement collapsed when she fell for Jeff Goldblum while filming overseas, and how the exes miraculously reunited years later to play husband and wife in the legendary feminist classic Thelma & Louise.
McDonald candidly recalled the sudden end of their romance, admitting he felt completely crushed when he heard the news.
“Geena Davis and I were engaged to be married for about five weeks and she fell in love with Jeff Goldblum doing her first movie over there in Europe,” McDonald revealed during his career sit-down.
“And I don’t blame him. She’s stunningly beautiful and everything like that, but you know, what happens on sets… things sometimes happen.”
A Heartbreaking Breakup Delivered via Ed Begley
The timing of the heartbreak could not have been more dramatic. At the time, McDonald was tied up with a classic theater production back home and fully intended to fly out to join his fiancée abroad as soon as his contract wrapped up.
“I was doing Hamlet at the time, playing Laertes, and I had another three weeks to finish and then I was going to go over and join her,” McDonald remembered.
Instead of a romantic reunion in Europe, McDonald was delivered the devastating breakup news by proxy through a fellow Hollywood peer.
“So I got the bad news from Ed Begley,” McDonald admitted during the interview, noting the painful nature of the moment while appreciating the directness. “He did me that solid. I mean I was really, really devastated.”
Following the split, Davis and Goldblum tied the knot in 1987, starring alongside each other in classic hit films such as The Fly and Earth Girls Are Easy.
Though the couple ultimately divorced in 1990, Davis has consistently looked back at her time with Goldblum with great fondness, describing their whirlwind union as a “magical chapter” in her personal journey.
Reuniting as On-Screen Enemies Five Years Later
In a twist of fate that could only happen in Tinseltown, McDonald and Davis were brought back together half a decade later for Ridley Scott’s 1991 masterpiece Thelma & Louise.
Davis was set to star as the lead character Thelma, while Scott was actively searching for the right actor to play her overbearing, obnoxious husband, Darryl Dickinson.
McDonald shared the incredible casting exchange during his SAG-AFTRA Foundation feature, revealing that Davis actually helped seal the deal for his casting.
“It’s literally five years later and [Davis] said to [Director Ridley Scott], ‘Who’d you get to play my husband?’ and he said, ‘Oh, you’ll love him, he’s tall, he’s funny, uh …. what’s his name? Chris McDonald,’ and then she said, ‘I used to go with him,’ and he said, ‘Even better, perfect!’” McDonald recalled with a laugh.
Finding Closure and Building New Chapter Successes
Stepping back onto a movie set with the woman who once broke your heart could easily have been a recipe for disaster or extreme awkwardness. However, McDonald reflected on the filming experience as surprisingly healing and productive.
Instead of holding onto resentment, the former couple leaned into the work, using their existing familiarity to create authentic screen dynamics.
McDonald described working alongside his ex-fiancée on the critically acclaimed film as deeply “cathartic,” noting that they maintained absolute professionalism and enjoyed the project.
Ultimately, both stars went on to build fulfilling personal lives following their tumultuous 1980s romantic history. Just one year after Thelma & Louise hit theaters, McDonald married actress Lupe Gidley in 1992.
The couple has been together ever since and shares four children. Looking back decades later, McDonald’s honest interview proves that while broken engagements can be utterly devastating in the moment, time, and a little bit of movie-magic irony, has a way of turning past heartaches into incredible stories.
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