James Brolin Says His Relationship with Barbra Streisand Is 'Better Than Ever' Since Pandemic

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

James Brolin and Barbra Streisand are stronger than ever!

During a virtual appearance on Friday's episode of The Talk, the 80-year-old actor opened up about his marriage to his Streisand, 79 - with whom he will celebrate 23 years of marriage in July - and how the COVID-19 pandemic helped strengthen their years-long relationship.

"I like women who say their peace, and I'm a calming factor, and she gets me up and doing things I wouldn't normally accomplish. It's like a perfect situation, the two of us," he told co-host Sheryl Underwood.

"We, for a long time, were put out by COVID. And a lot of people, their marriages haven't gone well during these 15 months," he continued. "We've literally fallen in love over this period of time, just being stuck together every day and making it work."

Continuing, he added, "Neither one of us have ever gone out the door [after] an argument and we are good at talking things out. And 23 years is better than ever, I must say."

RELATED: Josh Brolin Says It Was 'Irresponsible' to Visit Dad James and Barbra Streisand During Lockdown

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Barbra Streisand and James Brolin

The legendary singer married the Westworld actor on July 1, 1998 - two years after the pair were set up on a blind date.

"I met him at a dinner and expected a bearded mountain-man type, and he had cut off all his hair and was clean-shaven," Streisand previously told W Magazine. "I asked him, 'Who screwed up your hair?' "

"He later told me that's when he fell in love with me," she added. "My fella likes to hear the truth, which is unusual."

Never miss a story - sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

During his Friday daytime talk show appearance, Brolin was also asked by co-host Elaine Welteroth to share some ways in which he and Streisand surprise each other after knowing one another for so long.

According to Brolin, he will surprise his wife "every once in a while when it's not expected."

"I'll do a good piece of jewelry, and she's pretty picky, so they're not all what she would've picked out, but every once in a while I score," he said.