Art Garfunkel, now 83 years old, is sharing insights into the state of his relationship with Paul Simon. In a significant event on the Wednesday, Dec. 11 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, he performed a song alongside his son, Art Garfunkel Jr., as the duo Garfunkel & Garfunkel. During this segment, Kelly Ripa, 54, posed a crucial question to Garfunkel Sr. about his connection with former music collaborator Paul Simon, also 83.

Reconnecting After Years of Estrangement

From 1964 to 1970, Simon & Garfunkel released a total of five studio albums before parting ways. Over the years, they have come together on a few occasions, such as in 1981 for a special benefit concert in Central Park. However, their friendship has been notoriously fractured. Garfunkel Sr. revealed that they had a period of estrangement for some years until recently. Harper Simon, Paul's son, moved into the place where Garfunkel lives. Harper set up a dinner, and Paul and Garfunkel finally hung out after years. It was a very touching moment.In a recent interview with The Times, the eight-time Grammy winner mentioned that he had met up with his "Bridge Over Troubled Water" collaborator early this fall. Garfunkel said in the Nov. 11th interview, "First time we'd been together in many years. I looked at Paul and said, 'What happened? Why haven't we seen each other?' Paul mentioned an old interview where I said some stuff."

The 2024 Documentary and Past Breakdown

In the 2024 documentary In Restless Dreams: The Music of Paul Simon, Simon recalled that Garfunkel's role in 1970's Catch-22 was a breaking point in their relationship. "Artie said, 'Yeah, the way it's going to be is that I will do movies for six months, then I'll come back, you'll have written the songs, and we will do the album,' and I thought, 'Yeah? Actually, no. That's not gonna happen. I am not gonna do that,'" Simon recalled.Garfunkel Jr. told The Times that his dad and Simon "had their ups and downs over the years," but after their recent reunion, the 83-year-old "was so happy." He called and said, "Paul's my brother; he's family."