George Clooney and Talia Balsam's Relationship Timeline: A Look Back

Actress Talia Balsam and Oscar-winning actor and filmmaker George Clooney were a formidable pair in the '80s. The two met early in their careers, co-starring in a play in 1984. Their shared passion for acting and each other eventually led to them tying the knot in 1989.

Despite its eventual unraveling — and lack of coordinated couple dressing — the relationship seemed to be based on real love. Clooney told Vanity Fair in 1996 that he "married the one girl" he "truly loved and had loved for years." Contentious divorce notwithstanding, neither actor has said a bad word about the other since their split in 1992.

Here's a look back at George Clooney and Talia Balsam's relationship.

1984: George Clooney and Talia Balsam first meet

According to Vanity Fair, Balsam and Clooney hit it off while co-starring in a "local play" in 1984. Clooney, who was just 23 at the time, was trying to establish himself as a serious actor, and you could say that Balsam, then 25, was doing the same. Still, she came from a line of Hollywood stars — her mother was actress Joyce Van Patten (sister of actor Dick Van Patten), and her father was actor Martin Balsam — and carried more clout than the Return of the Killer Tomatoes actor.

December 1989: George Clooney and Talia Balsam get married in Las Vegas

The pair's relationship wasn't without its hiccups. After dating, Balsam broke up with her beau — but not for long. They decided to get back together, and Clooney later proposed. In December 1989, the couple proclaimed their love — and spontaneity — with their Las Vegas wedding.

1992: George Clooney and Talia Balsam divorce

The marriage didn't last forever, and Clooney allegedly filed for divorce in late 1992. Then came the never-ending press tour. The ER star famously told Barbara Walters in 1995 during an appearance on 20/20, "I won't marry again." His reason was that he "wasn't very good at" marriage. 

"I probably — definitely — wasn't someone who should have been married at that point," he told Vanity Fair. "I just don't feel like I gave Talia a fair shot," before adding, "I was responsible for the failure of that marriage."

Matters were further complicated when it came to legal counsel. 

"I would say to Talia, 'You tell me how much — what you think is fair. I'll write the check. I won't negotiate,'" he remembered. "Instead, I paid $80,000 in lawyers' fees. And that makes me crazy."

Clooney clarified his stance, as he did many times in the ensuing years, telling the Los Angeles Times in 1997, "She didn't do anything to me. We had a relationship that didn't work out, most of it is my own fault. That's not me trying to nail me first. I can look at it like it was a TV show. I was the one in the relationship who wasn't willing to fix things."

He continued, "For me, it was about children. Everybody keeps telling me I have to have children, and they keep betting I will." 

Nicole Kidman and Michelle Pfeiffer bet the actor $10,000 (each) that he'd have kids by 40. 

"They think it's that I hate kids," he said of his reluctance to become a father, "but I adore them." 

The Moulin Rouge star followed through when Clooney's 40th birthday passed, sending a check, but the actor declined to take it, countering with double or nothing for his 50th.

"I don't want to be the guy who comes in and does it half-assed, the way I've done many things in my life," Clooney said of parenthood. "The minute something is tremendously difficult, I lose some sort of interest. And I don't ever want to have the responsibility of messing somebody up like that." 

Of course, these sentiments would eventually change. In 2017, Clooney became a parent, welcoming twins with wife, Amal.

When Balsam starred on HBO's Divorce, naturally, she was asked about her own dealings with the title subject: how her divorce compared to that of Sarah Jessica Parker and Thomas Haden Church's characters.​​ "If you're trying to compare [George] to Thomas Haden Church's character, not at all," she told People in 2016. "Absolutely, George is charming. He remains charming. I've worked with him."