Billy Baldwin acknowledges he’s not a relationship guru.
In a recent interview, Baldwin shared insights into how he has navigated the challenging moments in his 30-year marriage to Chynna Phillips.
“I was very lucky. You know, I think to be successful in a relationship, you have to have chemistry. You have to have luck. Definitely. And you have to be willing to work. You have to be willing to sacrifice,” Baldwin said.
In November, Phillips, the daughter of the Mamas & the Papas co-founders John and Michelle Phillips, posted a video on her faith-oriented YouTube channel California Preachin, where she revealed she was living separately from Baldwin.
“Billy and I are sort of in this new kind of arrangement that is actually really working for me,” she explained. “I don’t know if it’s working for ‘Billster,’ but I’m very happy with what we’re doing and basically, it’s totally unstructured.”
Phillips said she proposed the idea to her husband as a test run. Her plan was to live in Santa Barbara while Baldwin stayed in Beverly Hills, and they would switch locations. She also suggested that during their time together, they could go on dates, enjoy recreational activities, and spend time with family.
By the end of 2024, Phillips and Baldwin chose to live together again, with Phillips admitting it was probably a very foolish, very unwise, very destructive, stupid decision.
In the interview, Baldwin offered some guidance for couples who haven’t yet reached the 30-year milestone.
“I learned this in a couple’s therapy session one time,” he explained. “The therapist said to Chynna, ‘What’s the one thing you need? I don’t want a list. I just want to know one thing. How are you not being fed? What do you need from Billy? I want to come back in two weeks, and we’ll revisit this with Billy. What’s the one thing you need?’” And then they said to me, “’What’s the one thing you need from Chynna?’”
“And that’s such a weird, simple [thing] and it’s not easy. It sounds so simple, but it’s not. It can be challenging to be consistent. And I said to my wife, ‘You don’t even have to be good at this. You could fall on your face every day. You could face plant and fail, but if you try, it would mean the world to me.’”
Baldwin’s most important advice is to consistently nourish the relationship and provide your partner with what they need.
“I sound like a PhD or a couple’s counselor. I suck at it, too, but I’m trying. I’m trying, baby,” he said.
Phillips and Baldwin were married in 1995 and have three grown children — daughters Jameson, Brooke, and son Vance.