James Brolin is still drawing attention from women at 86 when he goes out without Barbra Streisand, according to an insider who says the response has not faded with age. The same source says the reaction has become a real sticking point in the couple’s marriage, which has lasted 28 years.
Malibu attention
“When James isn't with Barbra you can pretty clearly see he still has that same effect on the opposite sex that he's always had,” the insider said. “Women are utterly charmed by him and still throw themselves at him, even if they have no idea that he was once a famous actor.” “And he knows how to return the admiration he constantly gets from the opposite sex.”
The reported day-to-day version of that appeal is less red-carpet than errand run: the source says he can pump his own gas and go on a solo run to pick up takeout at a local restaurant. When he is out with Barbra Streisand, the pair are treated like royalty and seen as the First Couple of Malibu.
Barbra Streisand and Warren Beatty
84-year-old Streisand has also been drawn into the conversation by what she has chosen to put on the record. In her memoir, she wrote that she shared a bed with Warren Beatty, and in March she gave a tribute to Robert Redford at the Academy Awards. The source pairs those public references with her habit of going to a dinner party only if there are huge VIPs and billionaire CEOs attending.
That combination has left Brolin in a sharper mood, the insider said. “James has been incredibly patient over the years, but he's finding it more and more difficult to cope with Barbra's obsession with her past lovers and crushes,” the source said. “It's become a real sticking point between them.”
First Couple of Malibu
The practical takeaway is simple: Brolin’s public appeal is still part of the couple’s story, but the friction now sits in what Streisand keeps revisiting. Whether Streisand has answered the frustration directly is not addressed, which leaves the marriage’s public line and private pressure point hanging in the same place.
