Harrison and Calista: A love like no other

MORE THAN 20 YEARS AFTER THEY FIRST MET, THEY STILL ONLY HAVE EYES FOR EACH OTHER

- Vicky Dearden, Jennie Noonan

Moments before the global premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny at the Cannes Film Festival on May 18, Harrison Ford was surprised by a montage of his greatest movie moments before being presented with the honorary Palme d’Or lifetime achievement award – the most prestigious honour offered at the annual event. “They say when you’re about to die, you see your life flash before your eyes and I just saw my life flash before my eyes,” he shared with the audience. “My life has been enabled by my lovely wife who has supported my passion and my dreams and I’m grateful.”

Ford met Calista Flockhart at a Golden Globes after-party in 2002, when around 20 minutes into their first conversation, he accidentally spilled wine on her dress. “I’m in love,” Ford told People magazine a year later. “I was not surprised that I was able to fall in love, and I wasn’t surprised that I did … Romantic love is one of the most exciting and fulfilling kinds of love. I think there is potential for it at any stage of your life.” 

Flockhart, best known for her Emmy-nominated performance on Ally McBeal, which ran from 1997 to 2002, insisted during the same interview that their age gap was irrelevant. “It doesn’t faze me,” she said. “Sometimes I even say, ‘Wow, I keep forgetting that he’s 22 years older than me.’” She added, “I like the way he looks first thing in the morning. It’s not handsome, it’s more cute. He looks like a little boy.”