After her divorce from Bill Hudson, the “Private Benjamin” actress Goldie Hawn was skeptical about her ex-husband’s new beau Cindy Williams’ intentions to create a cross-family relationship between her kids and their half-siblings.
Bill Hudson married Cindy Williams after his divorce from Goldie Hawn, with whom he shared two kids, Oliver and Kate. After their divorce, Hudson and Williams went on to have other kids.
In 1975 Hudson was on a flight from New York to Los Angeles when he met Hawn, who had boarded the same plane. The pair developed a relationship and married just a year later, on June 3, 1976.
On September 7, 1976, the pair welcomed their first child, Oliver Hudson, two months after they tied the knot. Their second child, daughter Kate Hudson, was born on April 19, 1979.
A year after their daughter was born, the couple’s relationship declined, and Hudson filed for divorce on August 15, 1979. Since their breakup, Hudson and Hawn’s relationship has been strained. The former does not have a good relationship with his kids as well.
Williams, whose family was the most important thing to her, passed away in January 2023 after battling a short illness. Her children shared the news, saying she was a wonderful woman who would be sorely missed.
Williams was starring as one of the main characters in the iconic TV Series “Laverne & Shirley” when she met Hudson at a celebrity baseball game. Hudson looked on as Williams cheered, and the actress noticed him staring and gave a thumbs down because she thought he was a playboy.
Her opinion of Hudson changed when the musician sent her a book by Martha Lear titled “Heart Sounds” for Christmas. Afterward, Williams invited him to dinner, and she was impressed with his looks when he showed up. The actress declared:
“He looks like a Greek god.”
Two months later, Williams became pregnant while Hudson was still finalizing his divorce from Hawn. Hudson finalized his divorce two months later, and the pair got married shortly after.
While pregnant, Williams returned on set to film the eighth season of “Laverne & Shirley” but discovered in her contract that she was scheduled to work on her due date. The actress subsequently approached the studio to try and work a solution; things got so complex she had no choice but to leave the show.
Williams and Hudson welcomed two kids, Emily and Zack. They also sometimes took care of Oliver and Kate, Hudson’s children, from his first wife, “Bird on a Wire” actress Hawn.
Williams shared her thoughts on motherhood, “It was a test by fire—instant family,” she admitted. “But it’s great now. I love these little people.” Hudson also praised the actress for knowing how to manage her time between work and their family, unlike his ex-wife.
He shared, “Cindy knows how to balance her family and her work. I never had that in my marriage with Goldie—no matter how she came on after our divorce as this abandoned little creature who was taken advantage of by men.”
At the beginning of his marriage to Hawn, the musician had a promising career, while Hawn struggled with hers because she was eight months pregnant. After Hawn gave birth to their children, she was determined to rejuvenate her flailing career and often left Hudson alone to care for the kids. During this time, the musician was struggling to hold down his career.
While Hawn was filming the movie “Foul Play,” she started making her career more important than the family, resulting in Hudson moving out and filing for divorce. Hudson has also been credited for having the patience to parent their kids. He frequently saw his kids from his first marriage and successfully blended them with their half-siblings.
After 18 years of marriage, Williams filed for divorce in 2000 citing irreconcilable differences.
