Ted Danson admits ‘messy’ Whoopi Goldberg scandal and lying in relationship

Ted Danson is looking back at his complicated relationship history, and how he moved past his admitted immaturity.

The Cheers alum first married when he was 23 years old in 1970 to Randy Danson (née Gosch), and after they divorced in 1975, he married Casey Coates two years later.

Their relationship, however, was marred with both heartbreak and later scandal; in 1979, Casey suffered from a stroke while giving birth to their first daughter, and amid their 1993 divorce — said to be one of the costliest in Hollywood history — The Good Place actor made headlines for his reported affair with Whoopi Goldberg.

“I didn’t really grow up emotionally until I was in my 40s,” Ted, who married wife Mary Steenburgen in 1995 when he was 48 years old, admitted to NPR during a recent conversation.

Though he noted he “won’t be too specific,” he further confessed: “I was a bit of a liar in my relationship,” adding: “I’ll leave it at that.”

He continued: “I started to work on myself very seriously around that time. I went to clinics and a psychologist and a mentor. I worked very hard to not be that person who hid his emotions and left out the back door.”

His admission came as he recalled whether he had been a rebellious teenager, to which he said: “I brought my parents to their knees when I was 45,” seemingly referring to when both his divorce and his romance with Whoopi became instant tabloid fodder.

“That was all kind of messily in the press, and my poor parents were going, ‘What?'” he recalled, adding: “I finally called them and they were very sweet and they came to support me and everything.”

“The press sounded horrible. But the work underneath the press was invaluable. I’m very glad for that time, even though it was messy — very messy,” he further shared.

Still, despite the mess of it all, he maintained: “I wouldn’t choose a do-over,” noting: “You know, if I did something differently and I took a different path, I wouldn’t be with my wife, Mary Steenburgen.”

He went on: “I wish I hadn’t become a liar and walked out the back door early in life. I wish that hadn’t been me, but even your wounds, you kind of have fondness for if you’ve gone through them and live through it and acknowledged it and made amends and all that stuff.”

“I am horribly embarrassed about many things in my past, things that are cringeworthy, but that’s my life.”

Source: Particle News, Getty, NPR