Don Johnson on 'Keys' to 25-Year Marriage with Kelley Phleger: 'Unspoken Trust and Kindness' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson at the L.A. premiere of “Doctor Odyssey”.Photo:ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty

ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty

Don Johnsonwent all out to celebrate his 25th anniversary withwife Kelley Phleger.

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere of ABC’sDoctor Odysseyon Wednesday, Sept. 18, Johnson, 74, discussed his marriage to Phleger, whom he tied the knot with in April 1999.

“Oh my gosh. We had a big dinner and a big party… and I bought her bling, man,” Johnson tells PEOPLE at the Bel-Air Bay Club. “Several different blings.”

Johnson went on to reveal the key to their long-standing relationship.

“Oh, we are just so in tune with each other that there’s an unspoken like trust and kindness and respect with us. And those are the keys,” he tells PEOPLE.

Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson at the premiere of “Doctor Odyssey”.Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty

Chad Salvador/Variety via Getty

The actor — who shares childrenAtherton Grace, 24, Jasper, 22, and Deacon Johnson, 18with Phleger — previously called his partner “a saint” in an interview withParadein May 2023.

“I was withBob Dylanone time, and I was having relationship issues, and Bob looks up at me and goes, ‘Well, see, love is about kindness, trust and respect, isn’t it?’ And that’s the embodiment of Kelley,” the actor told the outlet.

“It’s kindness, trust and respect, and we have that with each other. We’re lovers and friends and it’s fun. She’s an amazing woman,” Johnson added.

Grace Johnson, Don Johnson and wife Kelley Phleger in L.A. on May 6, 2018.Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

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“Don came up to me at Willie’s birthday party and said that the minute he laid eyes on Kelley, he knew he was going to marry her,” Schuman Silver told PEOPLE in 1999. “I don’t know what she thought, but I’m sure she found him very attractive.”

The actor was previously married to actressMelanie Griffith, 67; first in 1976 before splitting the same year, and again from 1989 to 1996. The pair share daughterDakota Johnson, 34, together.

In addition to his kids with Phleger and Griffith, Johnson also shares a son, Jesse Johnson, 41, with ex Patti D’Arbanville, 73.

Don Johnson and Kelley Phleger in L.A. in 2001.Frederick M. Brown/Getty

Frederick M. Brown/Getty

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TheMiami Vicealum’s latest red carpet appearance comes after hespoke to PEOPLEfor this week’s issue about the attention he got from women after shooting to fame playing Detective James “Sonny” Crockett on the cop show in the mid-’80s.

“I had to isolate. The [women] know where you are. We had security 24/7," he said. “One day, I reflected onElvisand thought, ‘Isn’t this kind of the way Elvis lived and died?’ Not that I’m comparing myself to Elvis, but in terms of him not being able to have a personal life. So I learned to manage it and vowed not to let it imprison me.”

source: people.com