Key Takeaways
- Jeff described their meeting as “love at first sight,” captivated by Susan’s beauty.
- Susan’s injuries on her face from a car accident made their first meeting memorable.
- Ten years later, they received a letter from the makeup artist with two photos from their first meeting, one showing Susan’s bruised face.
Jeff Bridges and his wife, Susan Bridges, share a timeless love story that seems to defy the passage of time.
Over more than four decades of marriage, their bond remains as fresh and lively as it was in the early stages of their relationship.
Their story began in 1975 on the “Rancho Deluxe” set in Paradise Valley, Montana, where Jeff first laid eyes on Susan, then a 21-year-old waitress saving up for college.
Their meeting was pure fate, with Jeff later describing it as “love at first sight.“
“I’m doing this scene with Sam Waterston and Harry Dean Stanton and I cannot take my eyes off this gorgeous, I didn’t know what she was, a maid, a waitress, I couldn’t take my eyes off of her,” Jeff reminisced during a 2018 interview with Today.
Lending a somber note to their initial meeting, Jeff couldn’t help but notice her two black eyes and a broken nose, which were the result of a car accident.
“Gorgeous girl with two black eyes and a broken nose. The juxtaposition of that disfigurement and the beauty, it had me.”
Bridges admitted,
“Something about her beauty and disfigurement kept me riveted. Every time I snuck a peek, she’d catch me.”
Though Jeff felt an instant bond, Susan wasn’t initially on the same page.
Jeff has openly admitted that asking Susan out wasn’t easy; when he finally did, she turned him down.
Despite this initial setback, their paths crossed again, and this time, sparks flew between them.
Their love blossomed, leading to their marriage on June 5, 1977, and the subsequent joy of raising three daughters: Isabelle, Jessica, and Hayley.
After a decade, a reminder of their early connection emerged in the form of a letter from the makeup artist on the set of “Rancho Deluxe,” enclosing two pictures of Jeff and Susan’s first encounter.
Among them was a snapshot of Susan with her bruised face.
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Jeff gained widespread recognition for his remarkable performances in iconic films such as “The Big Lebowski” (1998), “Seabiscuit” (2003), “Crazy Heart” (2009), and “True Grit” (2010).
- Jeff and Beau Bridges are brothers born to parents Lloyd Bridges (father) and Dorothy Bridges (mother).
