Ted Danson says Bill Clinton grilled him about his ‘intentions’ with Mary Steenburgen using Secret Service

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Ted Danson’s early romance with Mary Steenburgen included a high-stakes moment at the White House.

Danson, 78, recalled an intense one-on-one with then-President Bill Clinton that centered around the actor’s “intentions” with Steenburgen — a close, personal friend of the Clintons.

“One of the first things she did was take me to meet her dear friends in the White House,” Danson recalled while moderating a History Talks panel alongside Bill and Hillary Clinton, according to Variety. “Bill — Mr. President — took me around the corner, and there were three Secret Service agents behind him, all of them looking at me. The president asked me what my intentions were.”

“My first question is to you, Mr. President: Do you think that was fair?” the “Cheers” star quipped.

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Bill Clinton and Ted Danson attend a gala together

Hillary Clinton receives an award while Mary Steenburgen stands nearby

“No, but it was effective,” Clinton replied. “And I didn’t think I had to be fair. As it turned out, you became the best thing that ever happened to her.”

The couple met in 1993 while on the set of the movie “Pontiac Moon” and quickly became one of Hollywood’s most-loved couples. They got married in October 1995 in a ceremony on Martha’s Vineyard.

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Mary Steenburgen and Ted Danson at a Hillary Clinton rally

When speaking about their relationship to People in February 2021, Danson explained he knew he had to propose to her because he “couldn’t imagine not being with her at all times.”

“Not to sound corny, but I would sign up for 100 more lifetimes,” Steenburgen told the outlet. “He makes me a better person. He’s a truly beautiful human being. A great big soul. I love how he sees the world and how he cares about people, and he’s deeply hilarious, which is super, super sexy to me, and he smells really nice.”

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Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen stand onstage at the Emmy Awards, with Mary smiling and Ted looking more serious

After years of leading successful careers, Danson and Steenburgen got the opportunity to work together on Netflix’s “Man on the Inside.” Steenburgen joined the cast for season 2 of the comedy as the love interest for Danson’s character.

Steenburgen told People in November 2025 when she found out she had landed the role, “there was a lot of screaming and jumping up and down … because we were so excited to work together.”

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Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen pose together on the red carpet at the 82nd Annual Golden Globes.

“We’re both actors,” Danson told the outlet. “We were trained the same way. We had some really good material to work with. We’d get up every morning giggling about what we get to do.”

Fox News Digital’s Lori Bashian contributed to this report.

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