Back in the day, old Hollywood stars were expected to uphold a nearly perfect reputation. They often had certain rules they had to abide by, or else they could get in a lot of trouble. This is because, if a celebrity were to become the center of a huge new scandal or the subject of a negative news article, it would reflect poorly on the films or television shows they were in, and, by extension, reflect poorly on Hollywood itself. This meant that old Hollywood celebrities had to be extremely secretive when it came to things like alcohol abuse, drug addiction, homosexuality, and of course, affairs.
Regardless of how hard these old hollywood stars tried to keep their secrets close, however, paparazzi and tabloid journalists were as ruthless as ever, and always managed to find some celebrity to slander on the front pages of the most popular magazines of the day. Countless celebrities became the subject of huge scandals, and they unfortunately had to deal with a lot of backlash from fans as well as their bosses.
One of the biggest secrets sure to make headlines at the time were affairs. While celebrity affairs often make big news even today, they were even more sensational a long time ago. Times have changed a lot, and society used to be a lot more strict about what was and wasn’t acceptable. So scandals involving affairs often resulted in a lot more public shame and backlash than they receive today. Every time word got out that a famous celebrity was involved in an affair. Fans would be shocked and horrified but truthfully, affairs occurred all the time in old Hollywood stars.
In fact, broken relationships and marriages are even more common amongst actors. As nice as it may seem to be in a relationship with someone who’s in the same career as you. In reality, it’s often much harder for two actors to date one another. Actors have to deal with extremely long hours. And they usually spend months in other states or even other countries while filming. Since most actors in a relationship end up working on separate projects. They end up spending very little time together, which puts a huge strain on the relationship.
As a result, most celebrities in this situation end up becoming lonely. And start looking for relationships with whoever they spend the most time with. In the case of actors, this usually ends up being the other actors they work alongside.
Today, we’re going to be taking a look at old Hollywood stars who destroyed their relationships by starting affairs with their co stars. Make sure you stick around, because we’re also going to reveal how the passionate affair between Marlon Brando and Rita Moreno led to one of them nearly committing suicide!
Marlon Brando and Rita Moreno
Marlon Brando and Rita Moreno met in 1954, while filming the movie Désirée. Moreno was 22 at the time, while Brando was thirty. Neither of them were married, but their relationship eventually turned into a huge scandal. The two continued to pursue their relationship for eight years. But just three years after they met, Brando married the actress Anna Kashfi. Still, he continued to see Moreno. She was deeply in love with him, but fully realized that he was treating her horribly. Not only was he married to another woman while continuing to have a relationship with her. But he allegedly had numerous affairs with other women, as well.
Finally, Moreno felt so horrible about his infidelity that she nearly committed suicide at his house. She almost succeeded too, but luckily managed to survive to live another day.
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner
Frank Sinatra was one of the most famous and beloved stars at the height of his career. Which meant that the huge scandal he would later become involved in made an even bigger impact. Frank Sinatra married his first wife, Nancy Barbato, in 1939. However, in 1950, he met Ava Gardner at the party, and sparks flew. The two began a turbulent affair, which later made headlines. Once the entire world knew that Frank Sinatra was having an affair. He left his wife on Valentine’s Day, and married Ava Gardner a year later. Both were the target of much anger and ridicule. And thousands of fans accused Sinatra of leaving his kind wife for a “femme fatale.”
Their marriage short-lived, however, as both jealous, possessive, and explosive. They fought often, even in public, which meant their marriage problems frequently made headlines. After six years, they split up.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
In 1963, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton cast alongside one another in the famous historical film Cleopatra. At the time, Richard Burton already married to another actress, Sybil Williams, while Elizabeth Taylor married to Eddie Fisher. They spent a ton of time together on the set of Cleopatra and many began to suspect they were having an affair. Later, the two secretly spent time together on a yacht. And paparazzi captured the photos which became damning evidence for the affair.
The two actors divorced their respective spouses and married in 1964. They married for ten years, but eventually divorced. Then, after a short period of time apart, they decided to try it out again, and they ended up getting remarried. Unfortunately, this marriage only lasted a brief ten months before they divorced once again, and that time their relationship ended for good.
Joan Crawford and Clark Gable
In 1931, Clark Gable and Joan Crawford met on the set of the film Possessed. Their encounter would eventually lead to a relationship so scandalous, it would later become known as “the affair that nearly burned Hollywood down.”
Clark Gable had recently divorced his first wife, and had just married a socialite named Maria Langham. Joan Crawford, meanwhile, married to Douglas Fairbanks Jr. When the two met, however, sparks flew instantly, and it wasn’t long before they engaged in a passionate affair. When word got out that the two famous actors were cheating on their spouses, fans went crazy, and they both had to deal with a lot of backlash.
However, this wasn’t the only scandalous affair Clark Gable involved in, and it wasn’t even the most sensational! Make sure you stick around until the very end, because we’re going to reveal how another shocking affair led to a secret child! And if you’re enjoying this video so far, please take a moment to like this video, and don’t forget to subscribe to Facts Verse for more!
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy
In 1941, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy cast alongside one another in the 1941 film Woman of the Year. Spencer Tracy married to Louise Treadwell at the time, but began an affair with Katharine Hepburn. They had a very close relationship that wasn’t just built on passion. and they remained together for 26 years, until Spencer Tracy’s death. Amazingly, they stayed together even while Spencer Tracy still married. Even more amazing the fact that their relationship kept secret to avoid scandal and not discovered by the general public until much later.
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart
In 1944 one of the old hollywood stars couple, Humphrey Bogart met Lauren Bacall while filming To Have and Have Not. Humphrey Bogart was 44, and married to his third wife, an actress named Mayo Methot. Lauren Bacall, meanwhile, was just 19 years old. The two allegedly fell in love on set, although their stark age difference made it unlikely fo their relationship to be a healthy one. Still, right after the movie aired, Bogart divorced his wife and married Bacall. After just a year, they had a son, and remained married for 12 years until Bogart died of cancer.
Greta Garbo and Mercedes de Acosta
Greta Garbo known to involved in a number of lesbian relationships. As Mercedes de Acosta, despite married to Abram Poole for fifteen years. Mercedes de Acosta worked as a screenwriter, and the two became friends and worked as creatives together. However, that friendship later blossomed into a romance that would last at least a decade before ending, allegedly due to jealousy. Still, the two remained close friends for at least thirty years.
Clark Gable and Loretta Young
After his affair with Joan Crawford, Clark Gable somehow managed to salvage his marriage with his wife, Maria Langham. However, he would betray her trust yet again in 1935, when he met actress Loretta Young on the set of The Call of the Wild. They had an affair while filming, which resulted in Loretta Young becoming pregnant. Terrified that it would ruin her reputation and her career, Young took time off filming, moved out of the country, and claimed she was ill. However, she was secretly hiding her pregnancy. After giving birth, she gave up her daughter to an orphanage, but later adopted her so she could keep her child without anyone wondering who the father was.
After her daughter, Judy Lewis, grew up, however, it became apparent that she was the result of an affair, because she was the spitting image of her father!
Old Hollywood stars prone to getting involved in scandalous affairs, which resulted in a lot of sensational news. Were you more surprised to learn that Greta Garbo was likely in a gay relationship with Mercedes de Acosta, or that Loretta Young secretly had a child with Clark Gable? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to subscribe to Facts Verse for more!
