Woody Allen and Soon-Yi Previn certainly didn’t have the most conventional start to a marriage and many would have predicted their union was doomed, but two decades after they wed Woody says they are more in love than ever.
The famed director generated controversy in the early 90s when it was revealed he was in a romantic relationship with Soon Yi, who was the adopted daughter of his ex-partner, Mia Farrow – a child whom he had helped raise.
“One of the great experiences of my life has been my wife,” Woody told The Hollywood Reporter (HWR) of his marriage to his Korean-born wife, who is 36 years his junior.
Allen told the publication: “She had a very, very difficult upbringing in Korea – she was an orphan on the streets, living out of trash cans and starving as a six-year-old. And she was picked up and put in an orphanage.
“I’ve been able to really make her life better. I provided her with enormous opportunities, and she has sparked to them. She’s educated herself and has tons of friends… and got a college degree and went to graduate school, and she has travelled all over with me now. She’s very sophisticated and has been to all the great capitals of Europe. She has just become a different person.
The Blue Valentine filmmaker certainly put a lot at stake to pursue his relationship with Soon-Yi. Woody and Mia never actually married so Pervin was never legally his stepdaughter, but he did have three other children with Farrow, all of whom he is now estranged. But in spite of all of that Woody says his marriage has created a “wonderful life”.
“The contributions I’ve made to [Soon-Yi’s] life have given me more pleasure than all my films,” Allen said.
Adding: “She’s a great companion and a great wife. She has given me a stable and wonderful home life and great companionship. I guess whenever you meet somebody and they’re the right person for you, there is a great emotional contribution they make to your life.”
While Woody believes Soon-Yi’s life has been remarkably bettered, the 80-year-old doesn’t feel as though he’s changed much over the years.
“I might be the same person I was when I was 20,” he told the HWR. “I seem to have the same habits, the same work habits, the same phobias, the same enjoyments. I don’t think I have changed much over the years at all.”
