People are only just finding out Meryl Streep was once in love with late Hollywood actor

Some people are only just learning about Meryl Streep's first love.

The Only Murders in the Building star married Don Gummer in 1978, with the celebrity pair having since quietly separated.

In October 2023, it was revealed that Gummer and Streep had been estranged for some time, but it's believed that neither have filed for divorce.

A spokesperson for Streep said at the time: "Don Gummer and Meryl Streep have been separated for more than 6 years, and while they will always care for each other, they have chosen lives apart."

They share four children together: Louisa Gummer, The Good Wife star Mamie Gummer, Mr Robot actress Grace Gummer, and musician, Henry Wolfe Gummer.

But before the Devil Wears Prada favorite wed Gummer and started a family with him, she had dated John Cazale.

Cazale was best known for starring in films like The Deer Hunter, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Godfather franchise.

He and Streep met in 1976 on Shakespeare in the Park’s Measure for Measure, and quickly hit it off with one another; despite their 14-year age gap.

John Cazale and Meryl Streep dated up until his passing in 1978. (Abner Symons/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images)

At the time, Streep was an up-and-coming star in the film industry, while Cazale had already start making a name for himself.

Their close friends saw how in love to two were, but tragedy struck in 1977 when Cazale was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer.

When his condition worsened, Streep is said to have paused all acting roles to take care of him in his time of need.

In the 2016 biography Her Again, Michael Schulman penned of Streep: "She was always a strong-willed, persistent, hopeful person, and I think she just applied all her spirit and strength to taking care of [Cazale].

"She wasn’t one to create drama around it or draw attention to herself. She just bore down and did what needed to be done."

In early March 1978, Cazale was admitted to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - where he sadly never left.

He died at the age of 42 on March 12, with Streep remaining by his side until his final moments.

John Cazale and Al Pacino pictured in The Godfather: Part II. (John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images)

Streep has seldom spoke of her late love but, in rare remarks about Cazale, she once said: "He wasn't like anybody I'd ever met. It was the specificity of him, and his sort of humanity and his curiosity about people, his compassion."

Years on from their high-profile romance and some people are still learning that Cazale and Streep were a couple.

"I was today years old when I learned this very sad fact," one person penned on X recently. "No f***ing wonder I didn't see him in too many things; he died what must've been an excruciatingly painful death."

"How on this stupid ass earth did I not know this," said another.

A third added: "Never knew she was with big John."

The late actor is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Massachusetts.