In the late 1980s, the idea of Barbra Streisand and Don Johnson as a couple felt like a fever dream cooked up by a Hollywood publicist. He was the king of "Miami Vice," all stubble and pastel suits, basically the definition of cool in 1987. She was Barbra—the perfectionist, the director, the voice. It shouldn’t have worked. Honestly, for a while, it didn't just work; it was, in Barbra’s own words, "pure fun."
But then they stepped into a recording studio together. That’s usually where the trouble starts for famous couples.
The Aspen Meet-Cute and "Collecting" Art
It all kicked off in Aspen during the 1987 Christmas season. Barbra had just wrapped up a long relationship with Richard Baskin (the ice cream heir). She wasn't exactly looking for a "bad boy," but then she saw Don. He was lean, tan, and had what she called "good teeth."
In her 2023 memoir, My Name Is Barbra, she’s surprisingly blunt about the whole thing. She admits she’s "superficial" when it comes to men. She looks at them like pieces of art. She "collects" them. Don Johnson was the masterpiece of the moment.
The early days were a whirlwind of "boy things" that Barbra surprisingly humored. We’re talking:
- Watching football (he tried to explain it; she didn't get it).
- Racing boats.
- Flying helicopters.
- Attending Mike Tyson boxing matches with Donald Trump.
For a woman known for being intensely serious about her craft, she seemed to enjoy just being a "child again" with him. He made her laugh. He didn't apologize for his fame, and she didn't have to apologize for hers. They were both "biggy-wow-wows," as Don later put it.
The Song That Killed the Vibe
Things were great until they decided to work together. If you were alive in 1988, you couldn't escape "Till I Loved You." It was the title track of Barbra’s twenty-fifth studio album, a concept record that tracked the beginning, middle, and end of a romance.
Recording it was... awkward.
They were in the studio together, separated by a pane of glass so Barbra could watch him sing. Don had already had a hit with "Heartbeat," but singing next to Streisand is a different beast. He later admitted it was "nerve-racking." Barbra is a notorious perfectionist. She hears every flat note, every misplaced breath.
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According to Barbra, the duet was the beginning of the end. She says the experience made Don feel "insecure." Instead of talking it out, he apparently got cold. He got angry. He didn't even want to listen to the demo of their own song when she visited him on a film set in Calgary.
The Melanie Griffith Phone Call
The actual breakup didn't happen because of a bad note, though. It happened because of a phone call.
Barbra called Don’s place one day, and who should answer? Melanie Griffith. Now, Don and Melanie have one of those legendary, messy Hollywood histories. They married in 1976 for about five minutes, stayed in each other's orbits, and eventually remarried in 1989. At the time of the phone call, Melanie was in rehab, and Don was helping her through it.
Barbra didn't mind him helping an ex. What she minded was the lack of "straight talk." She realized he wasn't being honest about the depth of his rekindled connection with Melanie. For Barbra, if you aren't "straight with her emotionally," it's over.
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So, she walked. Just like that.
Where They Stand Now
Interestingly, there’s no massive feud here. Don Johnson and Barbra Streisand still run into each other at parties thirty-plus years later.
Don apparently still whispers "I love you" in her ear whenever they hug.
Barbra’s response? She doesn’t say it back.
It's a classic Barbra move—polite, firm, and keeping the boundaries exactly where she wants them. She’s been happily married to James Brolin since 1998, and Don has been with Kelley Phleger since 1999. They both found the "honesty" they were looking for elsewhere.
Insights for the Fans
If you're looking back at this 80s power couple, here is what you should actually take away from their brief overlap:
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- Creative Tension is Real: Mixing a professional "perfectionist" with a partner who is "insecure" about that specific talent is a recipe for a split.
- The "Aspen Effect": Many celebrity flings start in vacation bubbles like Aspen where the real-world pressures of different lifestyles don't seem to apply—until the vacation ends.
- Emotional Transparency: Streisand’s departure serves as a reminder that for many, "omission" is the same as a lie. If the ex is answering the phone, the current relationship is usually already over.
To really get the vibe of their relationship, you should probably go back and listen to the Till I Loved You album. It’s a literal roadmap of a relationship falling apart, recorded while their own relationship was doing exactly that. It's high-budget, lush, and a little bit uncomfortable when you know the backstory.