Why ‘Charlie’s Angels’ Star Jaclyn Smith Lived Apart From Husband for 17 Years

Michelle Stein October 2, 2026, 11:49 am

Jaclyn Smith and Dr. Brad Allen — Rick Kern/Getty Images for Farrah Fawcett Foundation

What To Know

Jaclyn Smith and her husband, Dr. Brad Allen, lived apart for 17 years due to his job in Chicago while she remained in Los Angeles.
Smith, who had two children and three previous marriages, approached her relationship with Allen with practicality and caution.
Despite the distance, their arrangement worked well, allowing them to deeply understand each other’s families, priorities, and expectations before living together.

Charlie’s Angels star Jaclyn Smith lived apart from her husband, Dr. Brad Allen, for 17 years — and the reason actually makes sense.

In her memoir I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie, published on September 8, Smith, 80, opened up about the unique arrangement she and her spouse had for nearly two decades.

She and Allen, 72, first met in 1991 after he helped perform her father’s heart surgery. They started dating, but two years later, he accepted a job at the University of Illinois in Chicago while Smith remained in Los Angeles.

“It’s true, the greatest love comes when you’re least looking for it,” Smith told Fox News Digital. “He operated on my dad. I remember he walked into the room, and he looked like the guys I grew up with, clean cut and just collegiate. He looked like just the guy down the street. And he was so good to my parents.”

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Smith had been married and divorced three times: Roger Davis (1968–1975), Dennis Cole (1978–1981), and Tony Richmond (1981–1989). As a result, she had a more practical approach to her relationship with Smith.

“You see, when I met Brad, I had two children,” Smith said of her son, Gaston, and daughter, Spencer. “It was no longer me going, ‘OK, my heart’s beating out of my chest, and I’m going to get married right away.’ It had to be a three-way decision.”

In 1997, she and Allen married but continued living apart until 2009. And it worked for them. They will celebrate 30 years of marriage next year.

“Ultimately, we commuted for 17 years,” Smith explained. “We married after seven years. And when we got married, we really knew one another. We knew each other’s families. We knew our priorities. We knew what we expected in life. And that is important in any relationship.”

Smith is best known for portraying Kelly Garrett in Charlie’s Angels from 1976 to 1981. Other notable acting credits include The Adventurers (1970), The Bourne Identity (1988), and the 2019 film also titled Charlie’s Angels, in which she reprised her role as Kelly.

Charlie’s Angels (TV show), streaming on Tubi