MGM+ recently released a documentary titled In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, focusing on the life and career of American singer-songwriter Paul Simon. This project, directed by Alex Gibney, shed light on several things, such as Simon’s health issues, his collaboration with Art Garfunkel, and his current whereabouts.
According to IMDb, the synopsis of In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon reads, “Paul Simon inside the studio making his new album Seven Psalms while looking back on his six-decade career with countless musical peaks from Sounds of Silence to Graceland.”
Paul Simon has been married thrice. His first wife was Peggy Harper, with whom he tied the knot in 1969 and divorced in 1975. Eight years later, he married the popular now-deceased actress and writer Carrie Fisher.
Even though their marriage lasted only a year, Simon and Fisher were together (on and off) for several years after their divorce. The couple traveled regularly, and Simon’s song “Hearts and Bones” is reportedly based on their time together. In 1992, he married singer-songwriter Edie Brickell, with whom he has three children.
As per People Magazine, Simon’s latest documentary featured a clip from his old interview explaining why his marriage with Fisher didn’t work. He recalled how emotionally “exhausted” he felt when they were together and explained how Fisher was “show business oriented.”
Paul Simon described his marriage with Carrie Fisher as “mistakes on top of mistakes on top of mistakes”
In the clip featured In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, the musician recalled he and Carrie Fisher tied the knot when Simon & Garfunkel were in the middle of a reunion tour. He reminisced, “In the middle of the reunion tour [with Art Garfunkel], I got married. I married Carrie Fisher.”
He explained how Fisher’s inclination towards showbiz played a major role in their divorce. “Carrie was much more show business oriented. I went along with that — that’s the world that she grew up with; she was used to it. She was used to a lot of press and things like that. It wasn’t intimidating or anything. She knew how to manipulate it and make it work for her. She was really good at it, and I wasn’t,” Simon shared.
After their divorce, Paul Simon felt “exhausted.” He said that marriage was difficult and his relationship with Fisher was filled with mistakes. The musician shared, “I mean, what was I thinking? Certainly not thinking about life, you know, that you actually like have to stop. Marriage is very… it’s a hard thing to do. You have to concentrate on — not everything can happen at once, not everything is a media event. All types of mistakes on top of mistakes on top of mistakes.”
He ended his statement by saying, “I realized I could become exhausted by — I could exhaust myself from emotional upheaval.”
Meanwhile, People Magazine reported that at their wedding, Simon’s good friend Lorne Michaels, the creator of Saturday Night Live, served as his best man. In an interview, he recalled how the engagement took place in Greece and Simon fell seasick for three days. Furthermore, Simon was having a bad time on the chartered boat and wanted to end his life.
Michaels stated, “For the engagement, we went to Greece. Paul chartered a boat. I was seasick for three days — at the rail praying for death. Other than that, it was a really fun time, and for the honeymoon, we went up to Egypt, went up the Nile.”
The Saturday Night Live creator further explained Paul and Carrie’s marriage was a disaster because of several complications. They were both at the peak of their careers, and Carrie was in a “fame bubble” because of Star Wars’ success.
Carrie Fisher once said that marrying Paul Simon was a wrong
In an old interview, Carrie Fisher was asked if she believed that her marriage with Paul Simon was wrong. As per People Magazine, her response was “Yes.”
Fisher explained that she was an “interesting girlfriend” but a disappointing wife. The actress said that she felt bad for Paul and was sad that “he had to put up with a lot with me.” She further stated, “I think ultimately, I fell into the heading ‘good anecdote, bad reality.’ I was really good for material, but when it came to day-to-day living, I was a little more than he could take.”
Carrie Fisher is best known for her portrayal of Princess Leia in the original Star Wars films. Some of her other films include The Blues Brothers, Hannah and Her Sisters, When Harry Met Sally…, and more. The actress had a relationship with Bryan Lourd, and the duo has a daughter named Billie Lourd. Born in 1992, Billie is an actress who is best known for appearing in TV series like Scream Queens and American Horror Story.
Carrie Fisher died on December 27, 2016, at the age of 60 in Los Angeles, California.
