Woody Allen gives insight into marriage with ‘disciplined’ Soon-Yi Previn

Woody Allen is giving insight into his life and marriage.

The usually private director, 89, spoke with the Wall Street Journal in an interview published on Wednesday, September 17, to promote his book, “What’s with Baum?”

In the interview, Allen spoke about Soon-Yi Previn, 54, whom he married in 1997, “frequently,” using words like “disciplined” and “decisive” to describe her.

The “Annie Hall” filmmaker also called Previn “a wonderful mother” with “a larger-than-life personality.”

The Wall Street Journal noted that Allen seemingly considers his wife as “the social and cultural driver in the marriage,” with the controversial writer revealing she’s “okay” with his novel.

“She didn’t knock it. She finds my writing style high-falutin,” Allen stated about Previn’s feelings on the book, which hit shelves last month.

He further discussed their marriage, which has been under a microscope for decades.

Previn is Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter, whom she welcomed with her ex-husband, André Previn. Allen dated Farrow from 1980 until 1992, when she discovered he was having an affair with Soon-Yi, who was around 22 at the time.

While he never married the “Rosemary’s Baby” actress, Allen adopted two of Farrow’s children: son Moses and daughter Dylan. The exes also share one biological son, investigative journalist Ronan Farrow, 37, who is estranged from his famous father.

His affair with Previn blew up the family’s lives, and a custody battle with Farrow ensued. During the legal battle, she accused Allen of sexually abusing Dylan. He denied the accusations.

The director married Previn in December 1997. They share two children, whom they welcomed via adoption: daughters Bechet, 26, and Manzie, 25.

Allen told the outlet that he never saw his life turning out this way.

“If anyone had told me years ago that I would be married to a girl much younger than me with no background in New York or none of the similar interests growing up and that she’d be a Korean orphan, I would have said, ‘No chance. I’m going to be married to a New York actress,’” he said. “But it didn’t work out that way.”

While Allen is happy with his bride of nearly 30 years, he told the Wall Street Journal he has “many” career regrets.

“I wish I didn’t do this film, I wish I had made this film better, I wish I had shot this scene differently, I wish I had not written this, I wish I had gone in that direction,” he explained to the outlet. “I could probably pluck out 15 of the 50 that you could keep and you could get rid of all the rest.”

Allen and Previn keep their relationship tight to the chest; however, the Oscar-winning filmmaker did share that his ideal date night is going to the theater at Lincoln Center, which he considers “a treat.”

The pair is rarely photographed but was spotted on a night out at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in October 2024 for the opening of Robert Downey Jr.’s Broadway debut in “McNeal.”