‘Charlie’s Angels’ star Jaclyn Smith lived apart from her husband for 17 years during their 35-year love story

For Jaclyn Smith, love wasn't waiting in Hollywood — it walked into her father's hospital room.

The actress, who starred as Kelly Garrett on the TV series "Charlie's Angels" from 1976 to 1981, recently penned a memoir, "I Once Knew a Guy Named Charlie." In it, the 80-year-old revealed that she and her fourth husband, Dr.

Brad Allen, lived apart for 17 of their 35 years together.

Smith first met Allen, 72, when he helped perform her father's heart surgery in 1991.

About two years later, Allen took a job at the University of Illinois in Chicago.

He spent the next 17 years there while Smith continued living in Los Angeles. ‘CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ STAR JACLYN SMITH SAYS BEAUTY SECRET ISN’T MAKEUP OR DIET AFTER FANS PRAISE YOUTHFUL GLOW "It's true, the greatest love comes when you're least looking for it," Smith told Fox News Digital.

"He operated on my dad.

I remember he walked into the room, and he looked like the guys I grew up with, clean cut and just collegiate.

He looked like just the guy down the street.

And he was so good to my parents." After three divorces, Smith said motherhood changed everything.

While a romance quickly blossomed, she wasn't willing to gamble on love again.

This time, she wouldn't rush walking down the aisle.

"You see, when I met Brad, I had two children," she explained.

"It was no longer me going, 'OK, my heart's beating out of my chest, and I'm going to get married right away.' It had to be a three-way decision." WATCH: CHARLIES ANGELS STAR JACLYN SMITH, 80, REVEALS SECRET TO HER AGELESS LOOK "Ultimately, we commuted for 17 years," she continued.