Don Johnson on 'Keys' to 25-Year Marriage with Kelley Phleger: 'Unspoken Trust and Kindness' (Exclusive)
The 'Miami Vice' star tied the knot with Phleger in April 1999
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Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson at the L.A. premiere of "Doctor Odyssey"Don Johnson went all out to celebrate his 25th anniversary with wife Kelley Phleger.
Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE at the Los Angeles premiere of ABC's Doctor Odyssey on Wednesday, Sept. 18, Johnson, 74, discussed his marriage to Phleger, whom he tied the knot with in April 1999.
"Oh my gosh. We had a big dinner and a big party... and I bought her bling, man," Johnson tells PEOPLE at the Bel-Air Bay Club. "Several different blings."
Johnson went on to reveal the key to their long-standing relationship.
"Oh, we are just so in tune with each other that there's an unspoken like trust and kindness and respect with us. And those are the keys," he tells PEOPLE.
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Kelley Phleger and Don Johnson at the premiere of "Doctor Odyssey"Related: Don Johnson Jokes Daughter Dakota's Only Advice to Him Would Probably Be 'Go Away, Dad' (Exclusive)
The actor — who shares children Atherton Grace, 24, Jasper, 22, and Deacon Johnson, 18 with Phleger — previously called his partner "a saint" in an interview with Parade in May 2023.
"I was with Bob Dylan one time, and I was having relationship issues, and Bob looks up at me and goes, 'Well, see, love is about kindness, trust and respect, isn’t it?' And that’s the embodiment of Kelley," the actor told the outlet.
"It’s kindness, trust and respect, and we have that with each other. We’re lovers and friends and it’s fun. She’s an amazing woman," Johnson added.
Related: Dakota Johnson's Parents: Everything She's Said About Her Famous Family
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Grace Johnson, Don Johnson and wife Kelley Phleger in L.A. on May 6, 2018The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
Johnson and Phleger are said to have been introduced by producer Jo Schuman Silver at a birthday party for then-San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown in the mid-90s, but reportedly didn't start dating until the fall of 1997. Phleger was then spotted wearing a 5 1/2-carat diamond engagement ring in April 1998.
"Don came up to me at Willie's birthday party and said that the minute he laid eyes on Kelley, he knew he was going to marry her," Schuman Silver told PEOPLE in 1999. "I don't know what she thought, but I'm sure she found him very attractive."
The actor was previously married to actress Melanie Griffith, 67; first in 1976 before splitting the same year, and again from 1989 to 1996. The pair share daughter Dakota Johnson, 34, together.
In addition to his kids with Phleger and Griffith, Johnson also shares a son, Jesse Johnson, 41, with ex Patti D'Arbanville, 73.
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The Miami Vice alum's latest red carpet appearance comes after he spoke to PEOPLE for this week's issue about the attention he got from women after shooting to fame playing Detective James "Sonny" Crockett on the cop show in the mid-'80s.
“I had to isolate. The [women] know where you are. We had security 24/7," he said. "One day, I reflected on Elvis and thought, ‘Isn’t this kind of the way Elvis lived and died?’ Not that I’m comparing myself to Elvis, but in terms of him not being able to have a personal life. So I learned to manage it and vowed not to let it imprison me."
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