Jeff Bridges Speaks Out on ‘Primal Battle’ With Wife Susan Geston

The Big Lebowski star Jeff Bridges has candidly spoken about his marriage to Susan Geston on the Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard podcast.

A triumpher at the Oscars, Golden Globes and SAG Awards across his eclectic career in Hollywood, the 74-year-old tied the knot with Geston back in 1977 and shares three adult daughters with her.

In conversation with Shepard and his co-pilot Monica Padman this week, Bridges was asked what type of woman has managed to keep him “engaged for so long.”

The guest’s answer was both relatable and eye-opening, as he unveiled the couple’s strategy to survive rough waters in the relationship and the ongoing “primal battle” we all go through.

Bridges, who reprises Dan Chase in The Old Man Season 2 this month, said to the pair: “The mystery is still there after 50 years of who exactly is this person. As we talk about it and she comes to my mind it’s really remarkable how she has fulfilled my dreams man.

“It was like a love at first sight and it’s grown. They don’t tell you if you hang in it can grow into incredible depths of intimacy and love and certainly you go through those times where you’re tested, and then you’ve got a choice: you can move on, end up getting a divorce or you can really use it as a takeoff spot.”

Apparently, when times get tough—”that primal battle” as Bridges calls it—they’ll calmly stare into each other’s eyes before hashing it out.

“The essence of it is: ‘You don’t get it, you don’t understand what it’s like to be me dealing with you,'” he said of the issue at hand. “One person gives you their perspective and the other guy just receives it. We do that back and forth and it seems to itch it a little bit.

“But the basic thing that comes out of it for me is that, ‘You’re so right, I don’t get it and you don’t get it, we don’t get it. Isn’t that wonderful? And here we are and we have to love’. You grow and you learn from all those missteps.”

Shepard—husband to The Good Place actress Kristen Bell—was in agreement with this philosophy, comparing the situation to “money in the bank” in a weird sense.

The host added: “You go through that and then the next time you’re like, ‘Uh-huh this is scary, I’m scared and also I know we’ve done this, so OK at least I know this mission’s accomplishable for some duration until we’re here again.'”