Martin Short has had an extraordinarily hard year. In his new Netflix documentary Marty, Life Is Short, he opens up about losing his wife Nancy Dolman to ovarian cancer in 2010 – and more recently, the death of his daughter Katherine in February.
Through it all, Meryl Streep has quietly been one of his closest sources of support.
The two have been a significant part of each other’s lives for well over a decade, and those around them say their bond has only grown stronger.
“Meryl’s been an absolute rock for Martin,” an inside source reveals to Woman’s Day. “She’s been an essential part of his world for over a decade now and that’s not going to change. If anything, this tragic situation has made their bond even closer.”
Just this week, they were spotted enjoying an intimate dinner date in London, with the pair sitting on the same side of the booth and leaning on one another.
Martin has spoken warmly about how much Nancy meant to him – describing her as “drop-dead beautiful,” with long blonde hair and a Joni Mitchell quality.
They married in 1980, adopted three children – Katherine, Oliver, and Henry – and built a close, full life together.
When Nancy was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007, she faced it with characteristic optimism. Tragically, she died in 2010 aged 58.
Friends say Meryl has always been deeply respectful of Nancy’s place in Martin’s life. “Meryl knows she will never take Nancy’s place, nor does she want to,” the source says. “She’s very respectful of her memory for Martin and his children, and admires how he’s using the pain of Nancy’s loss to move forward through the unimaginable pain of losing Katherine.”
The losses of recent months have been a lot to absorb. Martin told CBS Sunday Morning that in the space of about four months he lost his sister-in-law – Nancy’s sister – to cancer, as well as longtime friends Catherine O’Hara and Diane Keaton, and then his daughter Katherine, who had struggled for years with serious mental health challenges.
He has spoken about her illness with openness, drawing a line between mental illness and the cancer that took Nancy: “They are both diseases, and sometimes with diseases, they are terminal.”
Throughout all of it, Meryl has stayed close while giving Martin room to grieve in his own way. “Meryl’s given him as much space and time as he needs,” the source says, “and he’s been leaning heavily on his sons now more than ever. They’re all dealing with their grief in their own way, but for now they’re extremely protective of each other.”
It was Meryl, friends say, who helped Martin find his footing again after Nancy died – and who has continued to do so. “He might credit Nancy’s words with getting on with his life, but it was Meryl who brought the fun back into it.”
And speaking about the last few difficult months: “Finally opening up about the agony of this latest loss has been a release for Martin. They’ve both set aside time over the summer for family and to start work on a new Broadway project” – something Meryl herself teased on Andy Cohen’s SiriusXM show in April.
For Martin, humour and work have always been part of how he copes – and having someone steady to share both with clearly means a great deal. “He’ll never get over this kind of survivor’s guilt over losing a child,” our source acknowledges, “but he couldn’t have asked for a better partner to keep him from sinking into too much sadness. He’s never been more grateful for being the boldest, cheekiest upstart actor in Hollywood – and for hitting on Meryl Streep all those years ago.”
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