Musician Paul Simon recalls challenges of his ‘exhaustive’ marriage to Star Wars star Carrie Fisher

He cites Fisher's "Star Wars" fame and their clashing personalities as reasons for their struggles.

Paul Simon has opened up about his short-lived, tumultuous marriage to Carrie Fisher describing their relationship as a "whirlwind" complicated by the immense fame of the "Star Wars" star.

"Carrie was much more show business oriented," Simon reflected in the documentary "In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon." 

 "...She knew how to manipulate it and make it work for her. She was really good at it, and I wasn't.”

Simon's friend and best man, SNL producer Lorne Michaels said that there were lots of things that were remarkable about the time, but also it was two people at career peaks, and that's always complicated.

The couple, who met on the 'Star Wars' set, were divorced within a year. Simon admits feeling "exhausted" by the relationship's intensity.  "I mean, what was I thinking? Certainly not thinking about life, you know, that you actually like have to stop," he says.

“I realised I could become exhausted by — I could exhaust myself from emotional upheaval,” he added.

Fisher, who passed away in 2016, agreed the marriage was a mistake:  “Yes... I think, if you look at me, at the most, you can think I’m an interesting girlfriend. But a wife? I think you’re going to be disappointed."

Despite their divorce, Simon and Fisher's on-and-off relationship continued for years.  Biographer Peter Ames Carlin attributes their struggles to a mix of love, depression, insecurity, and Fisher's substance abuse.

Simon eventually married Edie Brickell, while Fisher had a daughter, Billie Lourd, with Bryan Lourd. After Fisher's death, Simon tweeted, “Yesterday was a horrible day. Carrie was a special, wonderful girl. It’s too soon.”