The way they were.
Barbra Streisand is speaking out following the death of former co-star Robert Redford, who died at age 89 on Tuesday.
“Every day on the set of The Way We Were was exciting, intense and pure joy,” Streisand began her Instagram tribute post on Sept. 16.
“We were such opposites: he was from the world of horses; I was allergic to them!” she continued. “Yet, we kept trying to find out more about each other, just like the characters in the movie.”
The “Funny Girl” star called him “Bob” and remembered him as, “charismatic, intelligent, intense, always interesting— and one of the finest actors ever.”
“The last time I saw him, when he came to lunch, we discussed art and decided to send each other our first drawings,” she recalled. “He was one of a kind and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with him.”
Redford’s team released a statement announcing his death.
“Robert Redford passed away on September 16, 2025, at his home at Sundance in the mountains of Utah — the place he loved, surrounded by those he loved,” Rogers & Cowan PMK chief executive Cindi Berger told The Post in a statement.
A cause of death was not disclosed.
“He will be missed greatly. The family requests privacy,” the statement concluded.
One of Redford’s most famous roles in his iconic career was the 1973 romance “The Way We Were,” which he starred in with Streisand.
Directed by Sydney Pollack, the Oscar-winning movie followed the love story between Katie Morosky (Streisand), an anti-war Marxist Jew with a strong commitment to social issues, and Hubbell Gardiner (Redford), a carefree WASP with no particular interest in politics or social issues.
In her 2023 memoir “My Name Is Barbra,” Streisand, 83, wrote that she was “drawn” to Redford, “not because of his appearance … guys with blond hair and blue eyes were never my type.”
The singer explained, “I did think he was very handsome … a wonderful jawline … great teeth. But what intrigued me most about Bob was his complexity. You never quite know what he’s thinking, and that makes him fascinating to watch on screen.”
She added, “Like the greatest movie stars, Bob understands the power of restraint. You’re never going to get it all … and that’s the mystery … that’s what makes you want to keep looking at him.”
The “Funny Girl” actress wrote that Redford was the “rare combination” of “an intellectual cowboy” and “a charismatic star who is also one of the finest actors of his generation.”
She compared him to her husband, James Brolin, whom she’s been married to since 1998, writing that “he’s almost apologetic about his looks, and I liked that about him.”
In Robert Hofler’s 2023 book, “The Way They Were: How Epic Battles and Bruised Egos Brought a Classic Hollywood Love Story to the Screen,” he claimed that Streisand was reportedly “infatuated” with Redford.
Hofler also claimed that during one of their sex scenes, Redford refused to say the line, “It will be better this time,” because he worried that viewers would think he wasn’t good in the bedroom in the real world.
“Redford was never bad in bed,” and so his character could never be either, Hofler wrote.
The author alleged that Redford was reluctant to work with Streisand, as he felt she wasn’t a “serious actress.”
“Her reputation is as a very controlling person. She will direct herself. It’ll never work,” he reportedly said at the time.
He also didn’t want her to sing any tunes in the film, reportedly noting, “She’s not going to sing, is she? I don’t want her to sing in the middle of the movie.”
She ended up signing the film’s iconic theme song, “The Way We Were,” which won a “Best Original Song” Oscar.
The book alleged that Redford forced himself to wear two pairs of underwear to “protect himself” from Streisand during the filming of their love scenes.
In her book, Streisand said that Redford was initially reluctant to take the role, as he felt like the script focused on Katie, and that his character, Hubbell, was underdeveloped.
“In Bob’s opinion, he was ‘shallow and one-dimensional,’” Streisand recalled. “I wanted to make Bob happy, so I told Sydney, ‘Give him anything he wants. Write more scenes to strengthen his character. Make it equal.’”
She noted, “Bob’s reluctance had a big influence on the script and ultimately resulted in a richer, more interesting character.”
Streisand said they had a “real rapport” during filming, but he was “kind of a loner” who didn’t spend much time with her at first, so that they could find their chemistry onscreen.
“Bob and I were genuinely curious about each other, and I believe that’s what comes across on screen,” Streisand wrote.
“Once he asked me about Brooklyn. What was it like growing up there? I guess he thought I was kind of exotic, but to me, he was the exotic one, growing up in California. Did he surf? Fish? Swim in the ocean after eating?”
Years after the film, she recalled a phone call she had with Redford.
“Bob was wonderful … open and thoughtful and engaging, as always,” she said.
“We talked for over an hour about everything, from working together on the film to politics and art.”
As the two former co-stars were hanging up, she recalled that he signed off by telling her, “‘I gotta go, Babs. I love you dearly, and I always will.’”
