Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford are one of Hollywood's most beloved power couples, but according to the Ally McBeal star, it wasn't love at first sight. Recalling their first meeting at the 2002 Golden Globes, Calista told The Times that she wasn't particularly impressed when the Han Solo actor approached her. "I had never seen Star Wars, which I know sounds really crazy," she said in 2024. "But I grew up in a small town without a movie theatre."
© Kevin Winter"I was aware of who Harrison Ford was!" she added. "But I didn't think, 'Oh, this is Indiana Jones.' It was more along the lines of, 'This is some lascivious old man, and what is he doing at our table?'" she laughed. "I was being a smartass." While Calista, 61, and Harrison, 83, share a 22-year age gap, the Star Wars favourite convinced Calista to join him for dinner, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Calista Flockhart and Harrison Ford's first date
After agreeing to meet Harrison for a date in 2002, Calista asked her Ally McBeal co-star and good friend, James Marsden, to join them. Appearing on The Late Late Show in 2019, James, 52, clarified: "She asked me after we wrapped if I could come along with her to this date because it was a new guy and we felt safe with each other. We went to dinner, and then she said they were gonna go back to his house and have cocktails
© FilmMagic"She said, 'Yeah, come with me,' and I was like 'Really?' I don't want to get my ass kicked by Han Solo." Reflecting on his evening out with the pair, James quipped: "I was the harbinger of a wonderful long relationship, and I'm taking credit for that".
© Kevin WinterTheir blossoming love story
Following his first date with Calista, Harrison – who is notoriously private – declared his love for the actress in 2003. "I'm in love. Romantic love is one of the most exciting and fulfilling kinds of love, and I think there is a potential for it at any stage of your life," the A-lister said in an interview. "I was not surprised that I was able to fall in love, and I wasn't surprised that I did."
When Harrison – who was already a father of four – met Calista, he developed a sweet bond with her son Liam, whom she'd adopted in 2001. "She's brought a child back into my home," Harrison told Reader's Digest in 2008. "My youngest, other than Liam, is 17. It's a wonderful opportunity to be part of a child's growing up, which is always an endless springtime. You see the blossoming and the growing and the nurturing and the payoff."
© Albert L. Ortega"[Calista] devoted herself to Liam and has done a really wonderful job raising him. I'm happy to now have a part of the job," the Blade Runner star added.
In 2009 – after dating for close to seven years – Harrison popped the question on Valentine's Day, presenting Calista with a diamond ring during a family vacation with Liam. A year later, on June 15, the couple said 'I do' at the Governor's Mansion in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Harrison officially adopted Liam.
© Getty Images"I wasn't expecting it at all," Harrison told Parade of becoming a father for the fifth time. "The unexpected part was certainly true, and the joy part is also true. I think Liam was about 6 or 8 months old when I met him and Calista. We have been together ever since."
As of 2026, Harrison and Calista are preparing to celebrate their 16th wedding anniversary, and the duo are more in love than ever. Just this week, the pair were photographed sharing a kiss and gazing into each other's eyes as they touched down in LA for Valentine's Day, which is, of course, the same day they got engaged on 17 years ago.
