But circumstances had changed by the time they were paired up for the World War II romantic drama Swing Shift, which began filming in 1983. Both older and divorced with kids, the co-stars embarked on what would become a decades-long relationship — despite Russell’s determination to undermine any potential relationship.

“Matter of fact, when I met Goldie, I was at a time in my life, and a period in my life, when I was going to put my worst foot forward when it came to any kind of a relationship with the possibility of a relationship,” the 69-year-old actor confessed. “I put my worst foot forward. If you can handle that, then maybe there’s a chance of some reality there of being together.”

His comment seemed to stun Hawn, who will turn 75 on Nov. 21.

“You put your worst foot forward? I could hardly say that,” she shot back. “I would say, if you’d done that with me, I wouldn’t be here today.”

But Russell insisted that he had put his worst foot forward with Hawn.

Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn (pictured in 2019) are sharing their relationship secrets. (Photo: MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images)

“Well, the first time I met her, I was horribly hungover,” he said. “That’s not a good foot forward.”

As Hawn protested “but you were fun,” Russell added, “Well, I didn’t try to put my best foot forward because it’s a hard thing to hold that up. Once you’ve done that, now you’ve established something, you’ve set a bar that you can’t stay with …”

Hawn’s response: “You’re really confusing me right now.”

At that point they each burst into laughter, with Hawn quipping, “This is like a group therapy session!”

Despite that misunderstanding, Hawn and Russell are on the same page when it comes to the success of their partnership. “There’s no secret,” they both told Smith.

That’s not to say that they don’t have any advice.

“You both want to be together,” Hawn said as Russell burst out laughing. “You’ve got to want to be together.”

“You’re right,” Russell added when Hawn questioned his laughter. “It’s up, and down, it’s sideways, it’s whatever. At the end of the day, how do you explain it? … It’s the same thing as what you’re saying. I call that love.”

While the couple has weathered breakup rumors over the years, Hawn shared, “You can actually survive a relationship in a way that when you get older you go, ‘[Sigh] I’m so glad I got through whatever period that was.’ Relationships go through periods, sometimes really hard times. But there’s nothing sweeter than having a family, and that is worth everything.”