Rishika Shahi
In a moving tribute, Christopher Reeve’s son Matthew Reeve has praised his mother Gae Exton for her bravery in opening up about their family’s history in the new documentary “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.” Exton, Reeve’s former partner and the mother of his two older children, is described by Matthew as “incredibly brave to tell her side of the story.”
Exton’s Witness to Reeve’s Rise to Fame
On Wednesday, September 18, at the Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story premiere in New York City, Matthew, 44, gives an explanation for why Exton, with whom the late Reeve was romantically involved in the late 1970s and early 1980s, was included in the movie.
When questioned whether his mother’s participation required some persuasion, Matthew responds, “Once we decided we were going to get to this, other family members came on board.” “I mean, once we kind of said we were going to commit to this, we were going to tell the stories we hadn’t told. We planned to share on video the moments we had never shared before. I’m proud of my mom for having the courage to share her side of the story,” Matthew continues.
Exton, a British modeling agency, and Christopher, the Superman actor who died in 2004 at the age of 52, had a daughter named Alexandra together. Christopher was crippled in a 1995 horse accident. After their breakup, Reeve wed singer and actress Dana Reeve, with whom he had his youngest son, 32-year-old Will Reeve. In 2006, Dana passed away at the age of 44 due to lung cancer.
“Dana was really the family documentarian, she always had the camera out, she would film things really like, especially if dad couldn’t be there so that he’d be able to watch, but she always used it,” Matthew tells about home video footage seen throughout the new documentary. “We’re very lucky that we had video cameras growing up.”
Preserving Reeve’s Legacy for Future Generations
Given her reserved personality, Alexandra, Matthew’s sister, says that she believed her mother Exton’s participation “was powerful for her to open up.” Alexandra also mentions that Exton saw Reeve’s early rise to popularity in the ’70s.
“My dad was a young actor who nobody knew to suddenly be on this rocket ship to fame, and she had a front row seat for all of that,” Alexandra says. “So it was beautiful to hear her tell that story, and then tell us her love story of her own relationship. And then they continued the love story, even after they separated, about how our family still remains really close, because they gave us this gift of having the united set of parents, even after they separated. So I’m so glad that it was celebrated.”
Furthermore, Matthew tells PEOPLE that sharing their father’s tale with viewers who might not be old enough to recall Christopher Lloyd’s Superman films “means everything” to him. “It’s a real honor to just be in a position to help tell his story for the best of my own memories,” he continues. Select cinemas will screen Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story, directed by Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, on September 21 and September 25.
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