Woody Allen’s Comments About Wife Puts Eyes on Controversial Marriage

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Despite being married for over two decades, Woody Allen rarely steps out with, or even talks about, his wife, Soon-Yi Previn. Earlier this year, they made a super-rare outing, and this past week, he gave details about their marriage; and it’s now shone a spotlight on their controversial relationship.

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal for his upcoming book, What’s with Baum?, he described his wife as “disciplined,” “decisive,” “a wonderful mother,” and someone who has “a larger-than-life personality.”

He added, “If anyone had told me years ago that I would be married to a girl much younger than me with no background in New York or none of the similar interests growing up and that she’d be a Korean orphan, I would have said, ‘No chance. I’m going to be married to a New York actress.’ But it didn’t work out that way.”

Because of his upcoming book and his super-rare comments, all eyes are on their marriage again. If you don’t know the beginnings of it all, we’ll break it down.

Back in 1977, actress Mia Farrow and André Previn adopted Soon-Yi Previn from Seoul, South Korea. Farrow then started dating Allen after meeting in 1979. They were together for over a decade, and had multiple children: adopting a daughter named Dylan in July 1985, and welcoming a son named Ronan in 1987.

Now, Allen and Previn met when she was 10. Per Vulture via Bustle, Previn hated him when they met when she was 10. “Woody wasn’t interested in meeting us children. And the feeling was mutual; we weren’t interested in meeting him. I hated him because he was with my mother, and I didn’t understand why anyone could be with such a nasty, mean person. I thought he must be the same way.”

However, Farrow and Allen’s romance came crashing down when she discovered nude photographs of her daughter, Previn, in Jan 1992 in Allen’s home. Months later, Allen issued a public statement saying that he and Previn were in love.

He later spoke to Time Magazine via Salon, saying, “I am not Soon-Yi’s father or stepfather. I’ve never even lived with Mia. I’ve never in my entire life slept at Mia’s apartment, and I never even used to go over there until my children came along seven years ago. I never had any family dinners over there. I was not a father to her adopted kids in any sense of the word.”

“To think that Woody was in any way a father or stepfather to me is laughable,” Previn added. “My parents are Andre Previn and Mia, but obviously they’re not even my real parents. I came to America when I was 7. I was never remotely close to Woody.”

However, in a 2005 interview with Vanity Fair, he did say their relationship had a “paternal” feeling to it, saying, “It’s got a more paternal feeling to it. I love to do things to make her happy. She loves to do things to make me happy. It just works out great. It was just completely fortuitous. One of the truly lucky things that happened to me in my life.”

He then said the same thing again a decade later to NPR, saying in his relationship with her is “paternal,” saying that he liked her “youth and energy.”

Allen and Previn later married in 1997 and adopted two daughters.

Before you go, click here to see celebrity couples who started their relationships as affairs.