Kevin Bacon lefts fans – and Drew Barrymore – in shock on Monday, as he revealed how he first met his now-wife Kyra Sedgwick when she was 12, and he was 19.

The pair would later reconnect as adults and have now been married for 35 years, but back in 1978 they first crossed paths as young actors, and Kevin hilariously revealed how Kyra was unimpressed by him. 

‘I will tell you that I was doing a lot of Off-Broadway, many years before that. I was 19 so she was 12, I think. 

‘Her mom had seen me in some plays Off-Broadway, and she knew that little 12-year-old Kyra wanted to be an actor,’ Bacon recalled on The Drew Barrymore Show.

Sedgwick’s mom bought tickets to attend one of his shows, and they ran into him while he was on a lunch break.

‘I was buying a sandwich in the deli around the corner. This 12-year-old girl came up and said, “Hi, I liked you in the play.”

Kevin and Kyra seen here at The Limelight in New York City in 1987

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick have been married for 35 years. They met in 1978 when she was 12, but their everlasting flame didn’t ignite then. Seen here un 2025

‘And, according to her, I said, “Thanks, sweetie.” You know, kind of misogynistic,’ Bacon recalled.

The couple met for the second time in 1987 when Kevin and Kyra were cast in the movie Lemon Sky. 

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He continued, saying, ‘She tells this story that when we first met doing Lemon Sky, she said, “You know we met in the village after that play that time. Do you remember that?”  

‘And I went, “Yeah I do remember that.” And she went, “Really” And I went, “No.”

‘So she did not like me. It was not love at first sight,’ he concluded.

Kevin and Kyra may never have met again in 1987 if Kevin had followed his urge to leave Hollywood behind for a quieter life after he sH๏τ to international fame in 1984’s Footloose.

During Thursday’s episode of Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals, Bacon admitted that the whirlwind success left him overwhelmed. 

‘I think I had gone through the intensity of Footloose, and exploding onto a kind of national kind of stardom, and then trying to deal with that,’ he shared, describing the sudden rise to fame as ‘zero to 60.’

It would take another eight years before they would fall for year other. Seen here in 2025

‘I will tell you that I was doing a lot of Off-Broadway, many years before that. I was 19 so she was 12, I think.’ Seen here in 2025

‘Her mom had seen me in some plays Off-Broadway, and she knew that little 12-year-old Kyra wanted to be an actor,’ Bacon recalled on The Drew Barrymore Show. Seen here in 2025

With nonstop public attention, constant travel, and a failing romantic relationship, the Philadelphia native found himself longing for solitude.

‘I just thought to myself, “I’ll just be a guy with a dog and live alone. I don’t need anything. I don’t need anybody,”‘ he recalled.

Footloose was a cultural phenomenon, cementing Bacon’s status as a Hollywood leading man.

His portrayal of Ren McCormack, a city kid challenging a small town’s ban on dancing, made him a teen idol and earned him a place in pop culture history.

The film’s success, fueled by an unforgettable soundtrack featuring Kenny Loggins’ hit тιтle track, launched Bacon into overnight fame and set the stage for his decades-long career.

While the attention caused Bacon to embrace a country life, his wife Kyra Sedgwick wasn’t quite as sold on the rustic dream.

After meeting and marrying Sedgwick, the couple settled into what Bacon describes as a ‘funky, small, rundown farmhouse’ in western Connecticut. For years, she went along with the lifestyle.

‘And we lived in this little place, and I chopped the wood, and when we weren’t working, she brought a dog into the mix. So it was us — and [our dogs] Jane and Tybalt,’ he recalled. 

Sedgwick’s mom bought tickets to attend one of his shows, and they ran into him while he was on a lunch break. Seen here in 2025

But eventually, Sedgwick had enough, admitting, she was craving city life again.

‘She said, “This is horrible. I want to go out to lunch. I want to go to the movies or the theater. I want to shop in the Village,”‘ Bacon shared.

The debate over where to live became their biggest argument ever.

Ultimately, they made the move to Manhattan, and in hindsight, Bacon admits his wife had the right idea.

‘It was the greatest thing we ever did,’ he said. ‘She was so right. Raising kids in Manhattan was the best idea.’

Looking back, he knows he made the right call. ‘I did get work. All these things that I was afraid of not happening, happened — and she was right. You know, right again.’