Patti LuPone is not holding back when it comes to her history with Kevin Kline.
The Broadway legend recently opened up about their long and rocky relationship, revealing that she took an “instant dislike” to him the moment they met. Patti LuPone and Kevin Kline’s relationship wasn’t exactly a fairytale, and she straight-up says he looked like Pinocchio the first time she saw him.
The 76-year-old actress met Kevin Kline, now 77, at Juilliard in the 1970s. In a candid interview with The New Yorker, she recalled their first encounter with brutal honesty. “I took an instant dislike to him. He looked like Pinocchio to me. He had skinny legs, and he was tall, and I didn’t really see the handsomeness.” That rough start eventually turned into something deeper, but it didn’t get any easier.
Despite the shaky beginning, the two ended up in an on-and-off relationship that lasted a painful seven years. Patti doesn’t sugarcoat how difficult those years were for her. “He was a Lothario. It was a painful relationship. I was his girlfriend when he wanted me to be his girlfriend, but, if there was somebody else, he would break up with me and go out with that person. And I, for some reason, stuck it out, until I couldn’t stick it out anymore,” she said.
Kevin Kline also acknowledged the toxic nature of their relationship, describing it as “fraught.” The pair were apparently so notorious at Juilliard that their classmates even nicknamed them “the Strindbergs,” after the famously dramatic Swedish playwright. It was a love story drenched in conflict and heartbreak.
And Patti has spoken before about the toll their relationship took on her. In a 2022 interview with People, she described Kevin as her “first big love” and called him a “player.” She added that the entire experience “exhausted [her] heart,” and that it was “incredibly hard” on her emotionally.
Now, decades later, both have moved on with their lives. Kevin has been married to actress Phoebe Cates since 1989, and Patti has been with her husband Matthew Johnston since 1988. But the emotional residue of that early relationship still lingers, even if the drama has settled.
Surprisingly, the two have managed to remain in contact over the years. According to Patti, they’ve found a strange kind of peace. “We have found a place where we can actually communicate and be friends. I think we can be friends. I don’t think we can double date, but I think Kevin and I can at least talk to each other,” she said.
For Patti LuPone and Kevin Kline, the love may have faded, but the memories clearly haven’t. From instant dislike to drawn-out heartbreak and, finally, fragile friendship, it’s the kind of story only two theater legends could live and tell. And yeah, calling someone “Pinocchio” is one way to kick off a decades-long saga.
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