The Truth About Carly Simon And James Taylor's Relationship

The following article includes mentions of drug addiction.

When the sweet-sounding James Taylor wed "You're So Vain" songstress Carly Simon, they quickly became the musical power couple of the '70s and the early '80s. Taylor was already creating hits with his debut album, which produced the songs "Something in the Way She Moves" and "Carolina on My Mind," while his sophomore album "Sweet Baby James" gave fans one of his biggest hits to date, "Fire and Rain." The couple even used their talents to come together for several memorable duets, including "Mockingbird" and "You Can Close Your Eyes." Add that with their incredible individual success, and the duo seemed unstoppable. 

However, behind the scenes, Taylor and Simon's marriage was crumbling. The couple's romance was plagued by drug addiction, infidelity, and emotional distance. Simon later shared in her memoir "Boys in the Trees" (via People), "Our love became bipolar, switching from love to hate, lust to loathing, and back again, sometimes within a day." Their love story was cut short, and ultimately, it all came crashing down. 

The truth behind Carly Simon and James Taylor's relationship is that it was a marriage that was passionate, yet also tumultuous. Let's take a closer look into what happened to their iconic romance. 

In her "Boys in the Trees" memoir, which was published in 2016, Carly Simon recalled the time she knew that she would marry James Taylor after seeing him on the cover of Time magazine. "Without thinking, I blurted, with confidence: 'I'm going to marry him,'" Simon shared. "How did I know this? People have asked me over the years. The only answer I can come up with is that he, James, was perfect for me in every way. If you believe in predestination or clairvoyance, that would be a terrific example of why you're right to."

Taylor was already making a name for himself in music at this time. His self-titled debut album was released in 1968, but it would be his second record "Sweet Baby James" that would put him on the map. His song "Fire and Rain" peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and a year later, in 1971, he released his third album "Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon," which contained the No. 1 hit song "You've Got a Friend." The tune also earned Taylor his first Grammy Award for best pop vocal performance.

In a joint interview with Rolling Stone in 1973, the "You're So Vain" singer shared how she had brought up the idea of marriage to James Taylor, who initially told her, "There's really no reason to get married. We love each other and we've been living together." However, Taylor soon had a change of heart, with Carly Simon recalling, "Later on in the afternoon, James said, 'You know I've been thinking about it and maybe we should get married.' I said, 'Well, what's happened between this morning and this afternoon?' He said, 'This afternoon it was my idea.'"

The couple would wed on November 3, 1972, when Simon was 30 and Taylor 26. In an interview with Dan Rather decades later, Simon looked back at the start of their marriage and said, "I was so happy. I remember thinking, 'I'm really safe now, I'm really safe.' And it's because James was my safe person." The two remained very close during this time, with Simon noting that they would spend every evening together.

Years later, however, after their iconic split, Taylor would admit to ABC's "7:30 Report" in 2010 that getting married in his 20s was a bit "premature" on his part. He explained, "It was kind of doomed. I mean, really, it was just — I was unfit to be a husband and father."

Carly Simon and James Taylor were a force to be reckoned with in the '70s, with their songs taking them to the top of music charts. As previously mentioned, Taylor was already a glorified folk star following the release of his sophomore album "Sweet Baby James," and during their marriage, Taylor would drop several masterful hits — including "Mexico," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," and "Handy Man."

For her part, Simon rose to stardom in 1971 when she released her self-titled debut album, which won her a Grammy for best new artist. By 1972, Simon would take the music world by storm when she released her third album "No Secrets," which birthed the hit "You're So Vain." She would also find success with her fourth record "Hotcakes," which contained the popular tune — and her duet with Taylor – "Mockingbird." The pair would later record together again on the song "Devoted to You" for Simon's 1978 record "Boys in the Trees."

In their joint 1973 interview with Rolling Stone, the then-married duo admitted that they felt some sort of "competition" as they were both huge stars working in the same scene. "I was afraid to say anything negative about her music. Any criticism that I had, I felt would make her dislike me," Taylor shared, with Simon adding, "I feel as though I'm walking on hot coals." However, it wouldn't be their high-profiled careers that would ultimately end their marriage.

Back in 1973, Carly Simon called her then-husband's drug addiction "harrowing" in their joint Rolling Stone interview, but admitted that she "didn't really understand the extent" of his dependency on various substances. The singer-songwriter added, "It just kind of confused me that there was a wall up between us and I didn't know exactly what it was, because I had never been close to anybody who was really addicted to anything before." She would later reveal in her memoir how she'd once seen James Taylor shoot up heroin in front of her, recalling (via the Los Angeles Times) that he'd said, "I can't have you and the habit at the same time."

Taylor himself later admitted that his addiction to drugs was a big reason his marriage to Simon crumbled, telling Parade in January 2022 how if affected his presence in the relationship: "You could fall in love, but if one of the people is addicted, it's not going to work. The whole person is simply not available." The musician had previously shared with The Guardian how this struggle also affected how well he and Simon knew each other — and even how well he knew himself. "It's terrible," he concluded.

Although Taylor's drug addiction played a major factor in their marriage's ultimate demise, he and Simon also dealt with cheating on both sides. 

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

By 1981, this celebrity marriage had come to an end, and James Taylor and Carly Simon were living separately. In an interview at the time, the "You're So Vain" hitmaker shared that she didn't have any regrets about their relationship. "We had nine wonderful years together and ... two wonderful children," she said. "And I think it's to our credit that we realized when things were no longer really mendable."

The couple officially divorced in 1983, with Simon admitting in "Boys in the Trees" (via People) that she turned to drugs like Quaaludes and pain medication herself to cope with their bitter breakup. "I didn't ever do anything like drink or do coke or anything like that," she added. "I liked it, I enjoyed it, but I don't think I ever really got addicted." Perhaps to the surprise of many fans, she also shared in her memoir that she believed Taylor's drug addiction was not necessarily to blame for their divorce. "Anything could have happened," Simon explained. "... If the demons that were in him went someplace other than drugs, it would have been something other than drugs that would have been difficult to live with I think too."

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

Unlike Carly Simon, who has spoken openly about her relationship to James Taylor in books and the in media, it seems the "Fire and Rain" singer would rather stay mum about his first marriage. Although he came out with an audio memoir about his life in 2020, entitled "Break Shot: My First 21 Years," he apparently purposely left out Simon for the most part, detailing just this early period of his life, which included his relationship with his parents, his stay at a psychiatric hospital, and making music with The Beatles. 

According to the Los Angeles Times, the only mention of Simon is when they met on Martha's Vineyard as kids. When talking about choosing to mostly exclude his romantic relationships, Taylor shared, "Maybe that's why Bill [the producer of Taylor's audio memoir] suggested we do that early part [of my life], so as not to have to make decisions like that." He added, "It's hard to talk about, to tell half a story like that. To own the whole thing — I'm glad I didn't have to talk about those intimate relationships with people who are still alive." 

However, Taylor does briefly mention Joni Mitchell, with whom he had a romantic relationship before marrying Simon. He explained, "Our romance did not last that long, but our friendship has sustained for 50 years."

Not being able to speak to her ex-husband and father of her children is understandably difficult for Carly Simon, but she still holds a special place for him in her heart. She even admitted in an interview with Dan Rather that she still loves James Taylor, but noted, "It's not a sad love. ... Sometimes it's critical and infuriating, but it's not sad." Disclosing what she finds frustrating about the state of their relationship these days, she said, "Because of the contrast of us and my yang-ness and his yin-ness, we can't blend in any way that either of us has even thought of how to do yet."

Echoing this sentiment to People in 2015, Simon further said of Taylor, "My incredible loyalty to him, in spite of the fact that he has treated me without any regard, has been so painful to me for so long." Luckily, writing her "Boys in the Trees" memoir allowed her to reflect on the ups and downs of their relationship, come to some major realizations, and finally heal. "I really started to understand that I could love and not be loved," she explained, adding, "It doesn't have to be a two-way street."

For his part, Taylor has since remarried to his third wife, Caroline Smedvig, in 2001. They welcomed twin sons Rufus and Henry via surrogate that same year, per The U.S. Sun. The only question, perhaps, that remains is: Will James Taylor ever speak to ex-wife Carly Simon again? We imagine only time will tell.