“Charlie’s Angels” star Jaclyn Smith is certain her husband Brad Allen was heaven sent.
The actress and the heart surgeon have been married since 1997 and the pair is still happily in love.
“Twenty-one years later and I’m still a lucky girl,” the 73-year-old star recently told Closer Weekly.
Smith shared with the magazine that even after all these years, the duo is still determined to bond over similar interests.
“My husband and I love to travel,” said Smith. “And we like to go to places we’ve never been. Going the distance is great because you build a history together and memories.”
Allen is Smith’s fourth husband, but she insisted he’s truly the man of her dreams.
“We have similar values and upbringing,” she said. “I want this one to be forever.”
Smith previously told Closer Weekly she met Allen when he was working at Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston. Allen had operated on Smith’s father, and when she was leaving the hospital, her mother then urged Allen to walk her to the car.
“My mom didn’t want me walking down to the parking garage alone so he would walk me down,” said Smith. “Who would’ve dreamed it could have happened?”
Smith and Allen soon started dating and the rest, as they say, is history.
“He’s kind and I saw a purity of heart,” said Smith. “Looking back over time is wonderful.”
Smith said that despite her lasting fame in Hollywood, what really matters is being surrounded by her family and loved ones.
“It might sound corny or like a fairy tale, but what makes me the happiest — especially at my age now — is just being near the people I love.”
And Smith has plenty of reasons to celebrate these days. The actress, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002, overcame the illness successfully and has been enjoying life with her husband, two children, as well as a beloved granddaughter.
Still, Smith can vividly recall the moment when her heart suddenly stopped.
“I can remember [that moment] with my doctor,” Smith told Fox News in April. “My first question was, ‘Will I be here for my children?’ And he said, ‘Absolutely. You got this early, we’ll take care of it.’ Did it affect our whole family? Yeah. They were in denial. I looked like the healthiest person in the world.
“My mother, it was difficult for her. She would think, ‘Why my daughter and not me?’ But we got through it. You go towards the fear. And when you educate yourself, you realize there’s so much progress for treatments. We’ve moved so far ahead from when I had it.”
Smith said being surrounded by family and friends helped her cope.
“I had a girlfriend who went through breast cancer and she was… by my side. I didn’t go to an appointment without her. I was lucky… My first reaction was to take my breasts out. But it made sense for me to have a lumpectomy. [My husband] was there for me, as was my doctor.”
Smith also continues to cherish fond memories from her time on “Charlie’s Angels.”
“We had laughs, we had so many laughs,” said Smith. “Angels in chains, being chained together. Eating lunch together. It was an education and it was eye-opening because each girl was so unique with her own personality and style. And these are my friends today. That bond is what I really remember.
“The friendship is what I treasure from that. The friendship. Aaron Spelling was so dear to me. He’s somebody I miss. He was a personal friend, as well as the producer of that show and the creator. We’ve lost some people. John Forsythe, what a gentleman. David Doyle. And of course Farrah [Fawcett]. It’s bittersweet to think back.”