Pierce Brosnan has always spoken glowingly about his wife Keely Shaye Smith, steadfast in defending her against body shamers.
As if the James Bond heartthrob weren’t dreamy enough to his admirers, his insistence over the years that he ‘strongly love(s) every curve in her body’ has made him even dreamier.
Now comes a plot twist in the decades-old story of the gorgeous couple and their disparate physiques: Smith, 61 – a former model turned journalist and documentary producer – has lost a remarkable amount of weight, while her 71-year-old husband seems to be gaining some.
A recent sighting of him picking up a lunch order from the beachside Malibu Seafood reveals that the Mobland star has packed on some pounds.
Don’t get us wrong: Brosnan would look good in gravy – or tartar sauce, as the case may be.
We’re just noticing that the former 007’s once sculpted frame has morphed into a bit of a dad bod.
His white T-shirt tucked into his black jeans revealed the gut of a man who, along with a lunchtime martini – shaken, not stirred – might order a sourdough bowl of clam chowder, the fried seafood combination and a side of fries.
Even though the actor has dismissed rumors about potentially playing an older, silver fox Bond figure, ‘M,’ the fictional head of the British Secret Intelligence Service that agent Bond works for, might put him on paleo before sending him on assignment.
Meanwhile, Smith has set the internet on fire with her stunning weight loss that she gained gradually after the births of the couple’s sons, now 24 and 28.
She looked notably slimmer at last year’s US-Ireland Alliance’s Oscar Wilde Awards, which she attended with her husband, wearing a black lace, thigh-grazing frock that showed off her new physique.
She also turned heads at this month’s premier of Paramount’s Mobland, a British crime drama.
Observers who’ve been tracking her figure estimate that she has shed more than 100lbs over two, maybe three years.
Smith – who’s less interested in discussing beauty hacks than the oceans’ health, which she makes films about – has stayed mostly mum about her transformation, which seems to have started before the recent Ozempic craze.
Back in 2020, she shared her love for a healthy diet on her Instagram page. With vibrant photographs of tropical fruits from Hawaii, where she grew up and still keeps a home, she explained how she was ‘harvesting… and collecting fresh, organic coconut water.’
She has spoken and posted defiantly on social media about conventional beauty standards and body shaming.
Rather than flaunting her weight loss, she took to her Instagram page to celebrate ‘all my body has given and accomplished in 60 years’ and share this quote from Lexy Florentina, a trauma-trained somatic experiencing practitioner: ‘Look at your body. Look at those arms that have held people they love.
‘Look at those eyes that have seen oceans and mountains and big green trees. Look at those legs that have carried you through your longest journeys. Look at your feet that have held you up on your hardest days.
‘Look at your smile that has grinned a million times at the moments that have brought you joy. Look at your body… not for the curves or texture but for the moments that this body has given you. Look at your body. Now what do you see?’
Brosnan, for his part, sees the wife with whom he has been through far more in a quarter-century of marriage than just some weight fluctuations.
The couple met in Mexico in 1994, a year before he made his James Bond debut in Golden Eye and three years after the death of his first wife, Australian-born actress Cassandra Harris, at age 39 from ovarian cancer.
Harris had two children from a previous relationship, whom Brosnan adopted, and a son she shares with the actor.
Deeply grieving and focusing on his kids, Brosnan waited for seven years before marrying Smith in 2001.
He has for more than two decades publicly praised her for patiently supporting him and his brood in their bereavement. Their family suffered another loss in 2013 when his eldest daughter, Charlotte, died at age 41 from the same ovarian cancer that also killed her mom.
Throughout both ordeals, Brosnan spoke out more than most public figures do about the crushing weight of grief. Despite dozens of roles playing dashing and death-defying characters, he is perhaps most admired for his real-life authenticity and kindness, especially toward women.
Actress Halle Berry famously told Wired that, while working on the 2002 Bond film Die Another Day, Brosnan restored her faith in men.
‘He will always be my Bond, always,’ she said. ‘There couldn’t be a human who is more of a gentleman than Pierce Brosnan.’
After his Mobland co-star Hellen Mirren recently slammed the Bond franchise for having been built on ‘profound sexism,’ Brosnan – whose success stems largely from his starring role in four of the films – surprised many by expressing some agreement.
Closer to home in 2022, the actor jumped to his wife’s defense after an internet troll contrasted photos of him and her when they met three decades ago to their bodies now. The viral tweet not only ridiculed Smith’s weight, but also suggested that women in general ‘let themselves go’ once they find a partner.
‘Your daily reminder to avoid marriage,’ it was captioned.
It has since been removed from the internet.
Speaking with Fox News Digital in 2023, Brosnan put the trolling in the context of what makes his marriage to Smith so strong.
‘We like each other a lot. We love each other a lot. And we’ve been down the road, and we’ve seen many, many hardships as families do, as we all do.’
In that same interview, he shared words that apply just as much now that he seems to be gaining gaining weight while she is losing it.
‘Watching someone grow up with you and grow old with you is a very spiritual journey. To watch each other change… whatever it may be, the hair, the waist. But it’s the love in the heart.’
