It was a romance that no-one expected to last, but Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski are still together 25 years after falling in love on the set of Crocodile Dundee.
Looking relaxed and carefree, this middle-aged couple barely turned heads as they strolled along the famous strip of golden sand at Byron Bay, lost among the crowds.
All but a few failed to recognise Paul Hogan and Linda Kozlowski, who slipped into Australia unnoticed for a low-key holiday on the NSW far north coast and a Christmas celebration with Paul’s six children.
“They were keeping a pretty low profile, but when they came down to the beach, it was pretty clear they were still very much in love,” confirms one holidaymaker. “He looked tired but relaxed and was very, very attentive to Linda on the beach. She has put on a bit of weight and gone from blonde to brunette, but looks really happy.”
Yes, Linda, who celebrates her 52nd birthday this Thursday, still has those famous curves Hoges fell in love with 25 years ago when they met while filming Crocodile Dundee, the smash hit movie that made him an international superstar. A still fit Hoges almost looks his 70 years, with his shock of blond hair now fading to white and his famous face deeply lined – despite persistent rumours of cosmetic surgery – after spending years in the sun while working as a painter on the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
When he and Linda fell in love, Hoges was widely criticised for leaving Noelene, his wife of 32 years and the mother of five of his children, for the glamorous blonde Hollywood starlet 19 years his junior.
“I resisted that for quite a while,” he told Andrew Denton in an interview in 2003. “I resisted that because of the on-set romance thing that happens all the time. These people meet on a set and they get carried away … It’s like what they call shipboard romance.”
When the pair got together, Linda was written off as a home-wrecking bimbo, while our favourite larrikin copped a bucketing from even his most loyal fans for his midlife crisis.
“She was unjustly crucified or blamed, or whatever,” says Hoges, who admits Linda sacrificed a promising career to stay by his side and raise their now 10-year-old son, Chance.
“It’s so stupid of anybody to sort of pass judgment on other people’s relationships. That was just hard for her, because the great thing about us when we were mostly living over there [Santa Barbara] and in Byron Bay was that nobody cared.”
The “shipboard romance” that no-one thought would last is still going strong almost a quarter of a century later, and the couple now spend most of their time at their Colarado cattle ranch in the US. They avoid the spotlight and red carpet events, preferring to ride horses on their ranch and ski at Aspen. There is no doubt the couple’s son Chance helps strengthen their bond. As Paul’s work schedule winds down, he says that his experience as a second-time dad is more satisfying, as he spends so much time at home.
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