So, what did Sherman see in Chris?
“On our first date,we went to three parties, given by three sets of my friends,” she recalls. “The first was in West Hollywood. Every guy there was gay. Chris passed with flying colors. Next we went to a party given by Beverly Hills snootballs. Chris kept his manners in check and held his own. Then we went to a costume designer’s party in the Hills, where we drank beers from a tub on the porch. And I thought: I can take him anywhere.”
Considering that the guy had disappeared back East for two years, how did she know he’d gotten serious? “There were two concrete steps in front of his house,” she says. “Chris had them cut out so I could get my cycle onto his lawn.”
His-and-her motorcycles. A struggling actor. A peripatetic set designer. Not the things that usually spell: Time to get married. “Yes, but underneath all of Sherman’s style, she’s very traditional,” Chris explains. On both sides, there was a common dream—a house with children.
But not right away. “Without a certain amount of money, there’s stress,” Chris says. “I know I’m definitely more relaxed with a couple of bucks in my pocket. So, in 1995, I didn’t feel I could establish a career as an actor and commit to kids at the same time.”