Rob Lowe Says Being Famous and Single in the 80s Was “Better Than You Dream”

Rob Lowe is looking back on one of the most recognizable eras of his career with a level of nostalgia that would make any 1980s movie soundtrack jealous. During a September 23 appearance on Chicks in the Office, the actor reflected on his rise to fame, his years as a single young star and the freedom that came with living before social media and ubiquitous cellphone cameras. Lowe described the decade as an “incredible time” and said he would choose it over any other period in human history.

Rob Lowe Says the 80s Were Better Than You Dream

Rob Lowe said the 1980s were special because they combined his growing career with a social environment that had not yet been transformed by digital technology. He remembered the period as an exciting time to make movies, party and be single, adding that he would not trade those experiences for anything.

When host Maria “Ria” Ciuffo said she would have liked to experience the decade herself, Lowe responded that it was “better than you dream.” He specifically pointed to the absence of social media and cellphone cameras as major differences. He recalled making plans with friends without knowing whether they would actually appear because there was no instant messaging or location sharing to keep everyone connected.

The comments come as Lowe promotes The Musical, his latest film, and revisits a career that began gaining major momentum with The Outsiders in 1983. His sudden rise was dramatic enough that he later recalled going from being a theater-focused teenager to experiencing intense attention from fans almost overnight.

Rob Lowe also suggested that the nature of celebrity has changed significantly since his early years in Hollywood. He argued that fame can now become a burden for young stars because their lives are constantly documented and scrutinized, leaving less room for the spontaneous experiences he remembers from his own youth.

Lowe’s own life has changed considerably since those single Hollywood years. He married Sheryl Berkoff in 1991 and is now the father of two adult sons, Matthew and John Owen. In earlier comments to PEOPLE, he has described shifting his priorities after age 26 toward spirituality, recovery, marriage and family.

The nostalgia does not appear to be a rejection of the life Lowe has built. Instead, his comments highlight how dramatically celebrity culture has changed. For an actor who experienced the transition from teen idol to established Hollywood veteran, the contrast between being famous before smartphones and being famous in the social-media era is particularly striking.

For Rob Lowe, the 80s represented more than neon fashion and blockbuster movies. They were a period when he was young, single, becoming famous and able to experience ordinary nights without wondering whether someone was recording them. Decades later, he still remembers that freedom as something that was, in his words, better than anyone could dream.