Mike Farrell Detailed How 42-Year Romance With Shelley Fabares Began Just 4 Months Before Her Death
What To Know
- Mike Farrell recounted how his relationship with Shelley Fabares began, just four months before her death.
- The couple’s romance started after a chance encounter at a CBS dinner, followed by a meaningful cable car ride and supportive conversations about Farrell’s humanitarian work.
- Farrell and Fabares married on December 31, 1984, and remained together for 42 years.
Mike Farrell detailed how the 42-year romance with his wife, Shelley Fabares, began, just four months before her death in August 2026 at 82.
In an April interview on the Still Here Hollywood Podcast, Farrell, 87, sat down with host Steve Kmetko to discuss a wide range of topics. This included the M*A*S*H star’s relationship with his Fabares. When they first connected, she was known for her roles in The Donna Reed Show and One Day at a Time.
“In the business, you sort of bump into each other,” he shared. “We were both working at Universal at different times. And I’d say hello, and she’d say hello. And that was it, pretty much.”
Additionally, Farrell recalled a time when he had just returned to the U.S. from El Salvador after speaking to people in refugee camps. He attended a CBS dinner in San Francisco, where he had a conversation with Fabares.
“I was just blitzed from having had this experience,” he said. “… I looked across the room, and there was this face I recognized, and I walked over to her and said, ‘Excuse me. I just would like you to know that every time I see you, I feel really good, and I feel a little calmer than I had been prior to that.’ And she said, ‘Mike, that’s very sweet, very nice of you.'”
Later that evening, they were talking when a cable car stopped outside. “I said, ‘Would you like to take a cable car ride?’” Farrell recounted. Fabares said she couldn’t because she was “involved” with someone. He added that “she turned away, and then she turned back and she said, ‘Sure, why not?’”
Farrell continued, “We rode down to the Fisherman’s Wharf, I guess. We walked along the coast, and I just spilled my guts about this experience I just had in Central America. And she was very patient and very sweet and very supportive.”
The following morning, Farrell and Fabares were assigned to ride in the same car to the airport. Farrell invited her and her boyfriend to watch a talk he was giving on his El Salvador trip. Although she couldn’t attend, she said to let her know the next time.
Several months passed, and Farrell was invited to do another talk about El Salvador. He called Fabares to invite her and her significant other. “I got a call back, and she left a message for me saying, ‘Is it OK if I bring my sister?'” Farrell said.
After his presentation, Farrell and Fabares went out for coffee. He was about to ask about a problem she had with One Day at a Time writers — but she revealed a relationship status update instead.
“I said, ‘Did you ever get that problem resolved?’” Farrell recalled. “I was going to say with her writers, and she said, ‘Oh, we’re not seeing each other anymore.’ And I said, ‘Oh. Well, that’s nice.”
To conclude his story, Farrell pointed out, “So that was the beginning of now 42 years of marriage.”
Fabares and Farrell said “I do” on December 31, 1984. Although they didn’t have any children together, she was a stepmom to his two kids, Michael and Erin, from a previous marriage.
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O
got the jist, but what a poorly written article. worse than AI
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J
Yeah, I agree, that headline needs to be rewritten, preferably by an experienced writer.
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