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<\/p>\nMeryl Streep and Don Gummer are the strongest couple in Hollywood. They have been together for more than 44 years, but they also look at each other with loving eyes. But this love story began with a great tragedy.<\/p>\n
Meryl Streep always knew that she wanted to connect her life with acting and made every effort to achieve her dream. <\/p>\n
She graduated with honors from Vassar College of Drama and went on to study at the Yale School of Drama.<\/p>\n
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After graduation, the girl went to conquer Broadway. Here her talent was appreciated and the actress was given the main roles in the productions. <\/p>\n
In one of the experiments, she met John Kazal, who is 14 years older than her.There was an instant spark between them. Young people fell in love with each other without memory. <\/p>\n
John became Meryl’s first love, and Casale already had a family. And at the time of the beginning of the relationship, he was still married.<\/p>\n
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The couple’s relationship quickly developed, Meryl and John began to live together. They planned a wedding and dreamed of a large family. <\/p>\n
This couple never gave rise to gossip in the yellow press, they almost never argued, their relationship was completely harmonious. <\/p>\n
John supported Meryl in her career in every possible way and went with her to all the auditions.<\/p>\n
The girl got a small role in the movie \u2018Julia\u2019. Her film debut was very successful and she was offered the lead role in The Deer Hunter, in which John became her co-star.<\/p>\n
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The couple was happy to spend so much time together, working, rehearsing, relaxing together. It seemed that there was no one happier than them in this world.<\/p>\n
A terrible diagnosis and the loss of a loved one<\/p>\n
Once on the set, Casale fell ill, and after an examination, he was given a terrible diagnosis: fourth-grade lung cancer. John quickly deteriorated. <\/p>\n
The producer even considered removing him from the project. But the director stood up for the actor, and Merrill threatened to leave the picture if Casale was fired.<\/p>\n
Filming continued and a special schedule was set so that John could play all of his scenes. Meryl was always by her beloved’s side and helped in every way. She did everything to make John happy, to give him hope. But this time was a real test for him.<\/p>\n
\u2018My husband is terribly sick and sometimes, like now, he is in the hospital. They take good care of him, and I try not to be idle, not to give up.<\/p>\n
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But I worry all the time, even though I pretend that everything is fine. It’s more mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting than any job I’ve ever done,\u2019 the actress admitted.<\/p>\n
After the picture \u2018The Deer Hunter\u2019, Meryl was supposed to star in the series \u2018Holocaust\u2019, which took place in Australia. <\/p>\n
No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn’t refuse them, because otherwise she would have to pay a huge penalty stipulated in the contract, and Meryl didn’t have that kind of money. <\/p>\n
And Streep had to fly away. She will remember this decision for the rest of her life, and it will later change hier attitude towards the family.<\/p>\n
John was getting worse, but he supported Meryl’s decision. It can even be said that he insisted that she fly to these filmings, because it was extremely important for her career.<\/p>\n
The filming lasted for several months, the actress was mentally exhausted, but she did not show it on the set and did her job with all her dedication. <\/p>\n
Meryl went crazy with worry, helplessness and concern for her beloved.She returned to New York immediately after filming ended.<\/p>\n
During this time, the disease had completely exhausted Casale. He looked like a living corpse. The man needed hospitalization, but he refused until the end, because he simply had nothing to pay for the treatment. <\/p>\n
Meryl took care of all the expenses and took her loved one to the hospital. He spent all his time with her.<\/p>\n
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For three months, the actress spoon-fed him, read the newspapers out loud, told him the news and did everything to make John happy.\u2018It may seem strange, but I remember the time I spent in the hospital with gratitude.<\/p>\n
John and I lived together for almost three years, but we were never as close as we were in the hospital room. We were so melded that I didn’t notice his fading.<\/p>\n
On March 12, 1978, John Casale died. His last words were, \u2018It’s okay, Meryl.\u2019<\/p>\n
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She was tormented by guilt that she had flown to Australia at the moment when her beloved needed her. <\/p>\n
She will receive an Emmy Award for Best Actress for her role in the TV series Holocaust. But the hatred for this series was so strong that Meryl did not come to the award.<\/p>\n
After John’s death, Meryl could not stay in the apartment where they lived together. Every detail drove her crazy, reminding her of the lost happiness.<\/p>\n
On her brother’s advice, Merrill stayed in the workshop of her friend, the sculptor Donald Gummer. His apartment was often empty because Donald was working abroad.<\/p>\n
Meryl accepted the offer, although she did not plan to spend much time in the apartment. She burdened herself with work so much that after coming home she just fell asleep exhausted.<\/p>\n
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One day, Don unexpectedly has to return to New York, where he met Marilyn. Not knowing how to thank someone who had helped herso much, Meryl jokingly suggested writing letters to Don. <\/p>\n
And he agreed, because he understood at first sight that he fell in love with this woman.The letters Meryl wrote became a kind of diary to help her cope with her grief.<\/p>\n
\u2018She was completely devastated by John Casal’s death, and I did everything I could to help her, but I soon found myself in love,\u2019 recalls Don.<\/p>\n
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Six months later, Gummer proposed to Meryl, and the actress agreed. After many years of marriage, Streep recalled that at the time of the proposal, she had not come to terms with Casale’s death, but Don showed her that she should go on living, she regained her lust for life.<\/p>\n
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In 1978, Don and Meryl got married. A year and a half later, they had a son, and then three daughters.John’s death taught the actress the main lesson of life: never to put career before family.<\/p>\n