Why Mia Farrow and Woody Allen Didn’t Live Together During Their 12-Year Relationship
Woody Allen and Mia Farrow’s 12-year relationship ended in tragedy with allegations that Allen sexually abused the couple’s adopted daughter. Interestingly, Farrow was a mother to multiple children from a previous marriage before dating Allen.
Allen initially did not want to be part of Farrow’s children’s lives. Though his opinion changed later and they even had children of their own, the couple never formally lived together. Allen preferred a bachelor-style life without the burden of all-day fatherhood.
Woody Allen and Mia Farrow didn’t live together due to Allen not wanting children around
Allen and Farrow met at a popular New York City restaurant in 1979 not too long after Farrow’s divorce from Andre Previn was finalized. They exchanged pleasantries and she was later invited his New Year’s Eve Party. Per Allen’s 2020 book Apropos of Nothing, he suggested the two meet for lunch at another time.
They hit it off during lunch and began dating, seeing each other regularly. At the time, Farrow was a single mother of seven children. But as their relationship progressed, Allen made it clear that he did not want any children. His declaration went even further.
Related: Mia Farrow’s Children: How Many Kids Did She Have With Frank Sinatra?
“I had seven children and he didn’t want to meet them at all and he said, ‘I have 0 interest in kids,’” Farrow explains in Ep. 1 of the HBO docuseries Allen v. Farrow. “I thought, well, still in my free time as an adult it’s wonderful to have a boyfriend, and then I’ll still be able to be with my kids. I thought, ‘I could make this work.’”
Ironically, the couple lived in apartment buildings on opposite ends of Central Park in eyesight of each other. When they’d miss one another in the evenings, they came up with ideas to turn their lights on and off – or hang towels outside of their windows for the other to see.
The famed director warmed up to Mia Farrow’s children
Allen’s decision to not be around Farrow’s children changed throughout the years. Farrow moved from New York to Connecticut to create more of a homely environment for her family. From that point on, Allen began making frequent trips to visit.
“Woody did come to visit us in the summer,” Farrow explained in the same episode. “He started spending more time with the kids, he gradually warmed to them and he was sweet to them, nice to them, he was the person I loved and as such, they loved him too.”
Related: Did Woody Allen Finally Admit Ronan Farrow Is Not His Biological Son?
Farrow’s son, Fletcher Pervin, echoed similar sentiments, saying, “He very much was a father-figure, even though I had my own father but he was not around day to day, and Woody very much functioned in that capacity. He would have meals with us, we’d fish in the pond together up in Connecticut.”
A clip of an audio interview of Farrow’s daughter Daisy Pervin speaking of Allen was featured. She says Allen was there most nights and mornings when she went to bed and woke up. Farrow’s children also spent time with Allen at his home in New York. He even built Farrow’s kids their own bedroom to make them feel more comfortable.
Farrow and Allen would have three children of their own, two of whom are adopted and one biological.
