Actor Ted Danson has shared an insight into how his relationship with ex-wife Casey Coates was affected by her stroke.
Cheers star Danson and producer Coates wed in 1977. Two years later, while giving birth to the couple's first daughter Kate, Coates experienced a "massive" stroke that left her paralyzed on her left side.
While Danson was by his wife's side to help in her recuperation, and the couple later adopted another daughter together, the actor has now admitted that their relationship was profoundly affected by the stroke in unexpected ways.
During the latest installment of his podcast, Where Everybody Knows Your Name, Danson told guest Jeff Bridges that he and Coates, who divorced in 1993, would often argue with one another over the new reality they found themselves in.
After discussing actor Bridges' past health issues, The Good Place star Danson said: "The mother of my kids had a massive stroke."
"She had to deal with that her whole life," he continued. "It had an impact on her physicality. We would go, 'Let's go to a movie.' We had a babysitter for Kate, our daughter, and we'd go.
"We'd get to the parking lot and never get past the parking lot, because we would have these fights that were basically, 'Where were you when I was having this stroke? Why didn't you keep that from happening?' Which was conceivably a valid question, and mine was even more irrational: 'I don't trust you anymore. You almost died. You said you're not going to leave me ever.'"
In a 1982 interview with People magazine, Danson, who was previously married to actress Randy Gosch, revealed that Coates spent three and a half months in hospital following her stroke. The actor told the publication that he slept on the floor of the hospital room for the first three weeks of her stay.
"A neurosurgeon told me she would be lucky to walk again," Danson recalled at the time, as Coates also candidly discussed the trauma she endured.
"I couldn't bear to be alone. It was too devastating," she told People. "For the first month, I did nothing but cry. I gave Ted permission to leave me. I thought I was going to be a wipe-out the rest of my life."
"We're adjusting to the fact that we aren't the same people we were before this happened," Coates added. "It was sheer survival. You don't think about your sex life when you're paralyzed."
Coates also shared that she was embarrassed to be seen in public once she was able to go out, which meant the couple often had spirited discussions in their car.
"There was a huge rift between us—a massive lack of trust," Danson told People at the time. "Her gratitude fed into the sense of sacrifice I was feeling." However, he added, "My commitment and depth of love for her are sure a lot richer."
Danson and Coates divorced in 1993. At the time, Danson was in a relationship with his Made in America co-star Whoopi Goldberg.
Since 1995, Danson has been married to actress Mary Steenburgen, his co-star in the 1994 movie Pontiac Moon.
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