Family Ties star Meredith Baxter, 75, holds hands with wife Nancy Locke

Meredith Baxter’s fourth trip down the aisle is proving to be a love match.

The 75-year-old actress, best known for her role as Elyse Keaton on the 1980s sitcom Family Ties, held hands with her wife Nancy Locke as they shopped in Montecito, California, on Sunday.

DailyMail.com spotted the couple checking out the gift department at local hot spot Pierre LaFond & Co Marketplace and shopping at the upscale Wendy Foster boutique.

They were nearly matching, as both wore white button-down tops, with Meredith in blue jeans and Nancy in brown. They even share similar short salt and pepper hairdos. 

An onlooker tells DailyMail.com, ‘The tile stairs are slippery and steep. Nancy took Meredith’s hand and helped her down since she was carrying two bags. 

‘Later Nancy watched as her wife tried on several sweaters and jackets at the sportswear department and gave her input. They seem very content with each other.’

DailyMail.com spotted Meredith Baxter and her wife Nancy They were seen checking out the gift department at Montecito hotspot Pierre LaFond

The 75-year-old actress best known for her role as Elyse Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties

The 75-year-old actress best known for her role as Elyse Keaton on the sitcom Family Ties

Meredith's second marriage to Bridget Loves Bernie co-star David Birney lasted 15-years and produced three children, Kate, 47, Mollie, 38, and Peter, 38.

Her fie-year third marriage to Michael Blodgett ended in 2005

Her second marriage to Bridget Loves Bernie co-star David Birney (left) lasted 15-years and produced three children, Kate, 47, Mollie, 38, and Peter, 38. Her five-year third marriage to Michael Blodgett (right) ended in 2005

They were nearly matching, as they both wore white button-down tops, with Meredith in blue jeans and Nancy in brown

They were nearly matching, as they both wore white button-down tops, with Meredith in blue jeans and Nancy in brown

'Nancy took Meredith's hand and helped her down since she was carrying two bags,' an onlooker said. 'They seem very content with each other'

‘Nancy took Meredith’s hand and helped her down since she was carrying two bags,’ an onlooker said. ‘They seem very content with each other’

The couple will celebrate their nine-year anniversary on December 15

The couple will celebrate their nine-year anniversary on December 15

Meredith and Nancy got a small snack at the bakery and left in Meredith's white Mercedes SUV

Meredith and Nancy got a small snack at the bakery and left in Meredith’s white Mercedes SUV

After a brief snack at the bakery, they left in Meredith’s white Mercedes SUV. 

The couple will celebrate their nine-year anniversary on December 15, after meeting two decades ago when Meredith was called in as a ‘sober coach’ for Nancy. 

The road to true love has been a rough one for Meredith.

She was married to Robert Bush from 1966-1971 and they have a son Ted, 55, and daughter Eva, 53, together.

Her second marriage to her Bridget Loves Bernie co-star David Birney lasted 15 years and they had three children, Kate, 47, Mollie, 38, and Peter, 38.

In her 2011 memoir Untitled, she wrote that she was a victim of both emotional and physical abuse at the hands of David.

Meredith says he hit her more than once.

‘It was so sudden and unexpected. I couldn’t tell you which hand hit me, or even how hard. I do recall thinking, I’d better not get up because he’s going to hit me again,’ she wrote. 

She admitted to turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism, but says she’s been sober since 1990.

Meredith played Elyse Keaton alongside Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman, Michael Gross and and Tina Yothers in Family Ties which ran from 1982 to 1989

Meredith played Elyse Keaton alongside Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman, Michael Gross and and Tina Yothers in Family Ties which ran from 1982 to 1989

David Birney denied the allegations at the time of the book’s release.

Her third marriage to Michael Blodgett lasted five years and ended in 2005.

A friend recommended Meredith to assist Nancy with her sobriety and after getting to know each other over the phone, they met in person at a local Starbucks and fell in love.

They kept their romance a secret for years before photos emerged of them on a gay cruise in 2009.

In 2013 they exchanged vows at Meredith’s Santa Monica home in front of friends and family.

Meredith said she was never living a lie or pretending to be straight for all those years before meeting Nancy.

‘I’m a lesbian, and it was a later-in-life recognition of that fact,’ she told NBC’s Today in 2009.

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk