Art Garfunkel and his wife keep their marriage alive by never letting arguments last longer than a day.
Settling Disagreements
The Simon and Garfunkel legend has been married to model, actress, and singer Kathryn for almost four decades. Although she and the 84-year-old occasionally disagree, they have always made it a priority to put things right before another day begins.
Garfunkel told the new issue of PEOPLE magazine, “We never get into a fight that lasts. If we go to sleep and we’ve fought, we make it up the next morning so it wouldn’t be two days in a row of turning our back on each other. We never let a fight last. I can’t live without my wife being in accord.”
Romance with Kathryn
For the Bridge Over Troubled Water hitmaker, whose unmistakable voice helped define one of music’s most successful duos, his greatest partnership is the one he found with Kathryn.
The pair first met in 1985 while working on the crime thriller movie Good to Go, which was released the following year, before marrying three years later in a ceremony at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, New York, in September 1988.
Looking back on meeting the woman who would become his wife, Garfunkel said everything changed.
He gushed, “I’m crazy about my wife. It all changed [when I met her]. That was the end of putting me in the center of my life. Now I’m giving to another. I’m one of two.”
Having a Family
The couple has two children, Art Jr., 36, and 21-year-old Beau, born via a surrogate.
Fatherhood was something Garfunkel always dreamed about.
The eight-time Grammy winner explained, “I come from a great family and I always thought that that’s a major part of life, to have a family. I experienced it in a wonderful way when I was a kid.”
His approach to parenting was equally relaxed. Garfunkel said he is “not a punisher,” explaining that he preferred encouraging his sons rather than focusing on discipline.
Art Jr. was born James Arthur Garfunkel, but he legally changed his name.
In January 2024, he told Rolling Stone, “I prefer the name, I just do. I’m also a very international person, and Arthur is a name that is compatible with most European languages.”
Art Jr. is a musician, and he is proud to be following in his dad’s footsteps. He said, “I feel blessed to have been born into this family. I’m so proud to be Art Garfunkel Jr. I’m so proud of my dad’s legacy. I walk in his footsteps.”