Brad Allen would fly from Chicago to Los Angeles to see Smith and her children on the weekends, before eventually moving in together.

Jaclyn Smith and husband lived in different states for nearly two decades of relationship: ‘We made it work’

Brad Allen would fly from Chicago to Los Angeles to see Smith and her children on the weekends, before eventually moving in together.

By Marina Watts

Marina Watts

Marina Watts is a news writer for with seven years experience covering entertainment, pop culture and celebrity news. Her previous work appears in PEOPLE, Bustle and Newsweek.

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September 14, 2026 10:48 a.m. ET

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Dr. Brad Allen and Jaclyn Smith at the 2022 Farrah Fawcett Foundation Tex-Mex Fiesta Benefit. Credit:

Rick Kern/Getty

- Jaclyn Smith and husband Brad Allen maintained a long-distance relationship while dating and for the first 12 years of their marriage.

- Allen flew from his workplace in Chicago to Los Angeles, in order to see the *Charlie’s Angels *star and her children on the weekends, before moving in together.

- Smith’s memoir, *I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie*, is available wherever books are sold.

Jaclyn Smith and Brad Allen went the distance in their relationship — and it paid off.

The *Charlie’s Angels** *alum detailed her career and personal life in her new memoir, *I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie*, and detailing for **’s sister publication, PEOPLE how she and the heart surgeon spent 17 years of their 35-year long relationship apart.

Smith and Allen initially met in 1991, when he performed heart surgery on her father. The couple began dating not long after.

“He operated on my dad, and I never thought in a million years that this would be the love of my life,” Smith said during a conversation with writer Ada Calhoun at The 92nd Street Y. “So you never know, right? You never know when that person comes. … He’s probably out there somewhere.”

After their first two dates, Allen accepted a position at a training program at Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children while Smith coincidentally filmed the movie *Kaleidoscope*, also in Toronto.

Dr. Brad Allen and Jaclyn Smith in May 2018.

Stefanie Keenan/Getty

Allen moved to Los Angeles after their respective jobs in Toronto wrapped. In 1993, at Smith’s encouragement, he took a job at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

The couple then embarked on long-distance relationship between the Windy City and Los Angeles, where Smith was raising her children, son Gaston and daughter, Spencer Margaret, who she shared with ex-husband, cinematographer Anthony Richmond.

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“The burden of commuting fell on him, and, God bless him, it was a burden he was willing to bear (he freely reminds me of this to this day if he suspects that I’m questioning his devotedness—which I never am). He’d leave Chicago as soon as he got off work on Fridays and be in Los Angeles in time for dinner. On Sundays, he’d catch the red-eye back to Chicago,” Smith writes in her memoir.

“All told, he was jet-lagged for half of every month! But we were happy and made the best of the situation.”

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“When you have only a weekend, you really make it count,” Smith told PEOPLE of the early days with Allen. “I could go there, he could come here. He did most of the commuting, because I had two kids, and I couldn’t move them from their dad. We made it work.”

Smith and Allen married in 1997, finally moving in together in 2009. Smith writes, “It was hard having a long-distance relationship, but it afforded us the time to all grow close naturally, and for the kids to get to know Brad on their own terms, something I think we’re all grateful for today.”

“Now that we’re together it’s just like bliss, because we did [long distance] for so long,” Smith also told PEOPLE. “God, I can’t imagine not having him here now. I can’t. It just makes life easier and better. For a girl that just believed in marriage and kids, I finally got that.”

Jacklyn Smith at The 92nd Street Y in New York in September 2026.

Manny Carabel/Getty

The actress, who was also previously married to *Dark Shadows* star Roger Davis and *Bracken’s World* actor Dennis Cole, added that she “finally got it right” with Allen.

“I got a great husband, great marriage, and the most fantastic stepfather I could ever dream of,” Smith gushed.

Smith’s memoir, *I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie*, is available for purchase wherever books are sold.

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