Geena Davis had a romance with Christopher McDonald before her marriage to Jeff Goldblum. The “Happy Gilmore” actor spoke at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, revealing his relationship with Davis in the ’80s. McDonald and Davis were together right before she met Goldblum on the set of “Transylvania 6-5000.”
Christopher McDonald, 71, has been married to Lupe Gidley since 1992. Geena Davis, 70, and Jeff Goldblum, 73, were married from 1987 to 1991. Now, McDonald has revealed the lead-up to how Davis and Goldblum got together. McDonald also talked about the awkward situation he and Davis found themselves in later on when they had to work together again.
Geena Davis Left Christopher McDonald For Jeff Goldblum
Christopher McDonald opened up about his relationship with Geena Davis. The actor revealed he and Davis were engaged to be married for “about five weeks.” According to him, she went to shoot her movie with Jeff Goldblum in Europe and had a clandestine romance with him. McDonald was not informed of this by Davis herself.
The “Hacks” star was told about Davis’s relationship with Goldblum by Ed Begley, Jr. The latter also starred in “Transylvania 6-5000” with Davis and Goldblum. McDonald referred to Begley, Jr.’s revealing the bad news to him as “doing a solid.” The actor was playing Laertes in a “Hamlet” production and expected to reunite with his fiancée in three weeks.
McDonald admitted he was “really, really devastated” upon learning Davis had left him. He also joked that he doesn’t blame Goldblum because Davis is “stunningly beautiful.” Despite being “broken” over the revelation, McDonald also said that he was aware of on-set romances happening between stars.
This is not the first time that McDonald has talked about his one-time engagement to Davis. In a 1992 interview with The Los Angeles Times, the actor had first shared the story of his heartbreak.
“We were playing house, and we were going to do the old marriage thing.” He told the outlet. “She was wearing the ring. Then she went off to do her first film on location and [they] hooked up.”
Christopher McDonald And Geena Davis Eventually Moved On
Five years after the end of their relationship, Christopher McDonald and Geena Davis were forced together again. McDonald was hired to play her husband on “Thelma & Louise,” which Davis was unaware of. According to McDonald, Davis was shocked when director Ridley Scott informed her. The actress revealed their former relationship to Scott, who instead thought this would make their onscreen interactions even better.
In the 1992 Los Angeles Times interview, McDonald had described working with Davis as “cathartic.” In the 2026 interview, the actor further revealed how the pair got past the awkwardness. The two “hugged it out” upon meeting.
McDonald proposed they take wedding pictures to use in the movie since they ironically played a married couple. According to McDonald, Davis is now “one of [his] dear friends.” He also called her a “remarkable woman.”
Before her relationship with McDonald, Davis had been married once before to Richard Emmolo from 1981 to 1984. After her divorce from Jeff Goldblum, she was married to Renny Harlin from 1993 to 1998, and Reza Jarrahy from 2001 to 2021; she has three children with Jarrahy.
McDonald met Lupe Gidley in 1989 and has been married to her since 1992; they have four children. Before Davis, Goldblum was married to Patricia Gaul from 1980 to 1985, and has been married to Emilie Livingston since 2014; they have two children.
