Age has never been a barrier for Maxwell Caulfield and Juliet Mills, who have been married for 46 years despite an 18-year age gap.
Difference in Age
The Grease 2 and Dynasty star reflected on the longevity of their union during a recent appearance on Steve Kmetko’s Still Here Hollywood podcast, revealing that the difference in years “didn’t occur” to him when they first met.
Caulfield, 66, said, “It didn’t occur to me, and Juliet maintains to this day it didn’t really occur to her, either.”
“We didn’t think about it. We didn’t talk about it, either. It was just two people who just communicated on such a high level, in different ways. We had so much in common because we were both English, to start with, we’re both actors, and we just had a connection instantly.”
Mills, 84, echoed her husband’s sentiments.
She explained, “It happened so fast. It caught us both off guard, needless to say.”
Caulfield added that his wife’s youthful energy made the age difference even less relevant.
He said, “She had such a youthful quality — always has, always will do. It’s presumptuous of me to even think that I was going to, you know, ‘hook up’ with her. That wasn’t really where it was at.”
First Meeting
The couple first met in 1980 while cast in a stage production of The Elephant Man. At the time, Mills had already been married twice, while Caulfield had not yet tied the knot. Despite their different life experiences, they connected instantly, forming a bond that would last decades.
Beyond his personal life, Caulfield also reflected on his career, particularly his role in the 1982 sequel Grease 2, which has become something of a cult classic despite disappointing both critically and commercially compared to its predecessor.
He said, “Here we are four decades later, and I’m still talking about Grease 2. It’s incredible.”
“I was living a fantasy making that film. I just wished at the time it had been more successful. It would have made my career a lot easier.”
No Romance with Pfeiffer
Caulfield explained that the fact that he and Mills had recently married meant there was no prospect of romance with his Grease 2 co-star Michelle Pfeiffer, who herself had recently tied the knot with her first husband, Peter Horton.
He said, “We did not have the kind of relationship that John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John did [in the original film].”
“They were so symbiotic, they absolutely loved each other. Michelle and I only had to play being in love. And we both just got married. So, there was no question about any [lines] being crossed in that regard.”