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- Paul Simon has been married three times throughout his career.
- He has four children from two of his marriages.
- Paul Simon is being honored with a tribute concert on CBS on Wednesday, December 21.
Paul Simon is one of the most iconic singer-songwriters of all time. From his work with his Simon And Garfunkel partner Art Garfunkel to his solo work, he’s been revered for generations. The Graceland singer, 81, has earned 16 Grammy Awards throughout his career and explored a multitude of genres. While he announced that he’d retire from live performances in 2018, he has occasionally made special appearances and performances since his farewell tour, and his music continues to be adored by fans of all ages, and he regularly reflects on his career highlights on his Instagram.
Throughout his career, Paul has not shied away from writing about his love life, and some of his biggest hits, including “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” have been inspired by his relationships. Paul has been married three times, including to his wife Edie Brickell, who he’s been wed to since 1992. Find out more about all of Paul’s relationships here!
Edie Brickell
Paul’s longest-lasting marriage has been to his wife Edie, 56, to who he’s been wed since 1992. Like “The Sound Of Silence” star, Edie is also a singer-songwriter, and she’s released nine albums both on her own and with her group New Bohemians. She’s also participated in other musical projects like the bands The Heavy Circles and The Gaddabouts, and in 2013, she released a collaborative album with comedy icon Steve Martin Love Has Come For You. She teamed up with him again to write the music for the Broadway show Bright Star.
Music was actually how Edie and Paul first met. She recalled seeing the iconic singer watch her perform her song “What I Am,” during an appearance on Saturday Night Live. She said she saw him in front of a cameraman during an interview with Mirror. “Even though I’d performed the song hundreds of times in clubs, he made me forget how the song went when I looked at him,” she said. “We can show the kids the tape and say, ‘Look, that’s when we first laid eyes on each other.”
During their 30-year marriage, Paul and Edie have had three children: Adrian, 30, Lulu, 27, and Gabriel, 24. While their marriage has been Paul’s longest-lasting, it hasn’t been without challenges. The couple were both arrested for disorderly conduct in 2014 in their Connecticut home. They were both given misdemeanor summons, per The Guardian. Despite the hiccup, it appears the couple patched things up and are still going strong in their relationship.
Carrie Fisher
After dating Shelley Duvall for a few years, Paul began a relationship with her friend Carrie Fisher, and the pair got married in 1983. The Star Wars actress, who passed away in 2016 at age 60, had an on-and-off relationship with Paul through the end of the 70s and the start of the 80s. Even though they had many breakups, it was clear they still shared love for one another. “We still care very much for each other. There is nobody else like Carrie. She’s got one of the fastest, funniest minds I know. She is absolutely unique,” Paul told People in 1983, per InStyle.
Weeks after the 1983 split, the couple reunited once again, but this time, they exchanged vows in a New York wedding ceremony with tons of stars like Billy Joel, Lorne Michaels, Christie Brinkley, and George Lucas in attendance. The pair broke up again in 1984, but reconciled once again shortly after, and they kept dating until the end of the decade.
Many of Paul’s songs were inspired by Carrie. “Hearts And Bones” and “She Moves On” are about their time together and breakup, and the track “Graceland” is often thought to be about when the marriage ended. Even though they may not have always been the nicest, Carrie did admit that she liked the songs in her 2016 interview with Rolling Stone. “I do like the songs he wrote about our relationship. Even when he’s insulting me, I like it very much. If you’re gonna be insulted, that’s the way to go. ‘Graceland’ has part of us in it,” she said.
After Carrie’s passing in 2016, Paul wrote a touching memorial to her in a since-deleted tweet. “Yesterday was a horrible day. Carrie was a special, wonderful girl. It’s too soon,” he wrote, per Variety.
Shelley Duvall
Before he met Carrie, Paul dated Annie Hall actress Shelley Duvall, 73, from 1976 until 1977. Not much is known about the relationship, but it has been reported that Shelley was the one who introduced Paul to the Star Wars actress, which led to the beginning of their on-off relationship in the 70s.
Peggy Harper
Paul’s first marriage was to Peggy Harper in 1969. The pair welcomed Paul’s oldest son Harper Simon, 50, who is a songwriter himself, in 1971. While the pair ended up divorcing in 1975, the period that they were together did serve as much inspiration for him. His 1972 track “Run That Body Down” includes references to himself and Peggy by name. The song “50 Ways To Leave Your Lover” was also released the year after the couple divorced. Years after the split, Paul revisited their relationship with his 1983 song “Train In The Distance.”
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