Alert – Inside story of Steven Spielberg’s bizarre arrangement with ex-wife after $100M divorce

Amy Irving might have reaped one of the largest divorce settlements – $100M – in Hollywood history from her ex-husband Steven Spielberg in 1989, but that surprisingly didn’t harm their relationship in the long run.

The 71-year-old retired actress and her third husband Kenneth Bowser Jr. even enjoy the odd double date with the 78-year-old legendary filmmaker and his second wife Kate Capshaw.

‘We’ve always communicated and been close,’ Amy told THR’s It Happened in Hollywood Podcast earlier this month.

In fact, in a rather unusual arrangement, they regularly meet up with their new spouses for cosy dinners. 

‘He and Kate and my husband and I, we try to double-date now and then,’ she explained.

Irving first met Steven in 1976 during an audition for his film Close Encounters of the Third Kind – she was too young for the part but they dated and she eventually moved into his bachelor pad.

Spielberg promised the Oscar nominee the role of Marion Ravenwood in Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but when they split in 1979 the plum part went to Karen Allen instead.

Amy Irving might have reaped one of the largest divorce settlements – $100M – in Hollywood history from her ex-husband Steven Spielberg in 1989, but that surprisingly didn’t harm their relationship in the long run (pictured in 1979)

The 71-year-old retired actress (L) and her third husband Kenneth Bowser Jr. (2-L) even enjoy the odd double date with the 78-year-old legendary filmmaker (R) and his second wife Kate Capshaw (2-R)

‘I guess real life meant more to me than my career,’ Amy noted of her then move to Santa Fe, NM.

‘I moved out, and I think when you walk out, you don’t get the part. That’s all there is to it.’

Irving and the three-time Oscar winner didn’t reconnect until 1984 in India where she was filming HBO miniseries The Far Pavilions and he was scouting locations for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

‘He was in Sri Lanka, I believe, at the time, and somebody told him that I was in India, and he said, “Let’s just stop there on our way back,”‘ the curly-haired seventies icon recalled.

‘I remember I was on a palanquin being taken to marry [Italian screen star] Rossano Brazzi. I was playing a half-Russian, half-Indian princess. And as I got off the palanquin to go back to my dressing room, there was Steven, and it just kind of sparked up again.’

Amy said she thought they ‘were meant to make Max’ – their 39-year-old son, who’s currently the co-founder of video game company FuzzyBot.

Irving lived close to Steven in order to share physical custody of their only child and she scored that $100M settlement after a judge vacated their prenuptial agreement, which had been written on a napkin without an attorney present.

But it barely caused a dent in Spielberg’s fortune considering he’s worth a reported $5.3B as of 2025.

‘I don’t know how long I was married to [Steven],’ the Cali-born, NYC-raised beauty said.

Amy told THR’s It Happened in Hollywood Podcast earlier this month: ‘We’ve always communicated and been close. He and Kate and my husband and I, we try to double-date now and then’ (pictured Tuesday)

Irving first met Steven in 1976 during an audition for his film Close Encounters of the Third Kind – she was too young for the part but they dated and she eventually moved into his bachelor pad (pictured in 1979)

Spielberg promised the Oscar nominee the role of Marion Ravenwood in Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but when they split in 1979 the plum part went to Karen Allen (R) instead 

‘I guess real life meant more to me than my career,’ Amy noted of her then move to Santa Fe, NM. ‘I moved out, and I think when you walk out, you don’t get the part. That’s all there is to it’ (pictured February 28)

Irving and the three-time Oscar winner didn’t reconnect until 1984 in India where she was filming HBO miniseries The Far Pavilions and he was scouting locations for Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (pictured in 1985)

The curly-haired seventies icon said she thought they ‘were meant to make Max’ – their 39-year-old son (pictured in 1985), who’s currently the co-founder of video game company FuzzyBot

‘But we were together for 14 years — with three years off for good behavior. I ran away for a little while, and then we got back together.’

Back in 1994, Amy confessed that she ‘felt like a politician’s wife’ during the marriage because ‘there were certain things expected of me that definitely weren’t me.’

‘I think it hurt being Steven Spielberg’s wife and then it hurt being the ex-Mrs. Steven Spielberg. It was awkward for a while. I don’t know why. I only know that I felt nonexistent,’ Irving told the LA Times.

‘I’d do a movie with Steven, but I think it would be awkward for him. Our friendship is very valuable to us, and that would probably put a strain on it.’

The SAG Award winner also mothered 34-year-old son Gabriel Davis Barreto during her nine-year marriage to Brazilian film director Bruno Barreto, which ended in 2005.

Amy has been married to documentary filmmaker Kenneth Bowser Jr. for 17 years.

Meanwhile, the DreamWorks founder and his 71-year-old Temple of Doom leading lady have been married 33 years and share five children of their own and two children from prior marriages.

On April 25, Irving will release her second studio album Always Will Be, which features covers of 10 reimagined Willie Nelson songs.

Amy lived close to Steven in order to share physical custody of their only child and she scored that $100M settlement after a judge vacated their prenuptial agreement, which had been written on a napkin without an attorney present (pictured in 1987)

But it barely caused a dent in Spielberg’s fortune considering he’s worth a reported $5.3B as of 2025 (pictured October 23)

‘I don’t know how long I was married to [Steven],’ Irving said. ‘But we were together for 14 years — with three years off for good behavior. I ran away for a little while, and then we got back together’

On April 25, the SAG Award winner will release her second studio album Always Will Be, which features covers of 10 reimagined Willie Nelson songs

Amy famously dated the 91-year-old country legend (L) after co-starring in Jerry Schatzberg’s 1980 western Honeysuckle Rose while he was still married to third wife Connie Koepke

Irving is next scheduled to perform May 4 at City Winery New York City in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District

The If You Want Me To Love You I Will singer famously dated the 91-year-old country legend after co-starring in Jerry Schatzberg’s 1980 western Honeysuckle Rose while he was still married to third wife Connie Koepke.

Amy is next scheduled to perform May 4 at City Winery New York City in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

Irving’s last acting gig was playing Amanda Seyfried’s onscreen mother Bobbi Davis in Amy Koppelman’s 2021 psychological drama A Mouthful of Air, which only earned $269K back from its $2.3M budget at the box office.

The two-time Golden Globe nominee is best known for her roles in Carrie (1976), Yentl (1983), Traffic (2000), and she provided Jessica Rabbit’s singing voice in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988).