For several years starting with the filming of Smokey and the Bandit in the late 1970s, Sally Field and Burt Reynolds became a hot Hollywood couple. Sadly, things didn’t work out for the two. Sally may have seemed like just one in a long string of costars that Burt hooked up with and even got semi-serious with, but Burt would later claim before his death that his relationship with Sally had been something more. After Burt’s death, Sally opened up about how she felt on the matter, surprisingly revealing that Burt’s feelings weren’t in the least bit reciprocated. Join Facts Verse as Sally Field shows the ugly side of Burt Reynolds relationship.
Burt Reynolds Thought Sally Field’s Talent Made Her Sexy
Much has been made of the several years that Sally Field and Burt Reynolds were romantically involved. Their romance began during the filming of 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit, though the two apparently knew each other from before. In fact, it was Burt who helped Sally get her part in the film. The studio had apparently alleged that Sally wasn’t sexy enough for the part, with Burt firing back that Sally had acting talent, and that her acting talent made her sexy.
Burt’s insistence that the studio hire Sally Field to play her role in Smokey and the Bandit paid off, as the film was a success and made both Burt and Sally bigger stars than ever before. Burt certainly put his money where his mouth was when it came to his pitching of Sally to the studio. In fact, Burt did find Sally’s talent to be sexy, and he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands off of her while filming the picture.
Burt Was Known for Wooing Costars
Reynolds had hooked up with his costars on his films plenty of times before, but he claims to have known right from the beginning of their relationship that there was something different about Sally. While Burt had dated other stars for periods of years and had even married to actress Judy Carne for several years in the 1960s, there something about his several-year-long romance with Sally Field that came to define the actor’s personal life.
Burt Reynolds had plenty of romances in his life, but he went to his deathbed claiming that Sally Field had been the love of his life. In the years leading up the actor’s death, he had made comments insinuating that he deeply regretted how short his and Sally’s time together had been. Because of all of these comments from the late Burt Reynolds, many people began to think that there more to his and Sally’s romance than had initially made apparent. However, comments made by Sally Field in the wake of Burt’s death suggest that maybe the actor was being a bit delusional when it came to how much importance he was placing on the short relationship they shared so many decades prior.
Sally Clams Burt Was No Good for Her
According to Sally Field, Burt Reynolds was simply no good for her and their relationship fell apart naturally. She has no regrets about how their relationship ended, and she feels that Burt placed a false importance on her later in his life simply because she had been the one that got away. It seems that Sally feels that Burt went to his deathbed valuing her more than any of his other former lovers because she had been the one that had been the least attainable.
This revelation from Sally Field published in her memoir, which was released after Burt Reynolds’ death. According to Sally, she didn’t initially intend to publish the memoir, which resulted in her perhaps being a bit more open about things that happened in the past than she should’ve been. However, with Burt gone, she felt free to let the dark details of their relationship spill into the public. It likely felt good for the actress to clear the air after so many people had begun speculating that perhaps her romance with Burt had meant more to her than it had as a result of the late actor’s comments. Sally claims that she initially flattered by Burt’s insistence that she had somehow been the love of his life. But that it got creepy by the time that he passed away.
The History of Sally and Burt’s Romance
Sally and Burt had only known each other for a very short period of time before the production of Smokey and the Bandit, but their relationship quickly progressed during the movie’s production. According to Sally, the intensive nature of the film shoot made them bond quicker than they would have otherwise, and they left the filming of the picture feeling as if they had a future together beyond it. Both of the stars felt that their relationship was more than a simple love affair, and they quickly made their romance public.
For the next several years, the celebrity couple of Sally Field and Burt Reynolds would be a big thing. If you’re enjoying this video so far, be sure to hit the like button to show your support! Also, subscribe to the channel if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
Sally and Burt Continued to Work Together
Following Sally Field and Burt Reynolds’ successful work together in 1977’s Smokey and the Bandit, the two continued appearing together in films. Meanwhile, their relationship was blossoming into something more and more serious. Following the release of Smokey and the Bandit, Sally and Burt could seen together in the films Hooper and The End, both of which released in 1978. In 1980, the pair reunited on screen for the sequel Smokey and the Bandit II.
There Was an Imbalance of Power Between the Stars
Sally Field wasn’t all that far into her career at the time that she met Burt Reynolds, and the much bigger actor proved a pretty big influence over the younger actress. Quickly into the pair’s relationship, there proved to be an imbalance of power, as Sally found herself oftentimes changing who she was to please her elder companion. In the beginning, Sally embraced the influence that Burt had over her lifestyle. However, by the end of their relationship, Sally claims she began to feel as if she was lacking her own identity.
Sally Field claims she reciprocated Burt Reynolds’ controlling nature at first because the older actor made her feel special. However, as she began to bend herself to fit his needs, she realized that it wasn’t truly her that the star attracted to. As Burt began pushing for Sally to marry him further into the relationship, the actress found herself denying the request. This refusal only made Burt more adamant that Sally was the one he wanted, and these feelings apparently only grew inside of Burt following the dissolution of their relationship.
Sally Refused to Marry Burt So He Broke Things Off
Burt Reynolds apparently asked Sally Field to marry him many times and she repeatedly said no. Burt ended up cheating on Sally and breaking off the relationship as a result. Previously, Burt had broken off his several-year-long relationship with talk-show host Dinah Shore after she had denied his continued requests for marriage. It later revealed that Dinah had denied Burt’s requests because of a cancer diagnosis that she had kept secret, while Sally denied Burt’s requests because she was simply unsure if the actor was really the one. While Burt would go to his grave regretting breaking things off with Dinah Shore and even visited her grave a year before his death, he would claim that he regretted breaking things off with Sally even more.
Burt Reynolds Had Many Romantic Regrets
Burt Reynolds went to his deathbed claiming that Sally Field had been the perfect companion, and that it had simply been in his nature as a man to screw the relationship up. The beloved icon passed away in 2018, at the age of 82. At that point in time, him and Sally Field had long-since ceased any and all communication. According to Burt, this was because they simply lived too far apart. However, Sally would likely have a much different interpretation of the reasoning.
Burt Reynolds may have placed a ridiculous amount of importance on women like Sally Field and Dinah Shore as a result of them being ones that managed to get away, but the actor certainly had no trouble finding romantic partners over the course of his lifetime. Though Burt hooked up with plenty of women over his 82 years, he always made it clear to his prospective partners that getting married and having kids was his endgame. Sadly, it seems that Burt never quite achieved this endgame properly. Over a decade prior to his relationship with Sally Field, Burt had his aforementioned marriage to television actress Judy Carne. However, Burt and Judy had no children. Soon after breaking things off with Sally, Burt got his wish and found his second spouse.
Burt Reynolds’ Second and Last Wife
Burt Reynolds’s second wife was Loni Anderson, whom he married in 1988 and divorced in 1994. The two had met while filming 1983’s Stroker Ace. Of course, Loni was a television star known for her tenure on the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. Over the course of Burt and Loni’s marriage, the couple adopted a son. Finally, Burt was granted his wish of having a child. That child is Quinton Anderson Reynolds.
Oddly, Sally Field also went on to marry after the end of her and Burt Reynolds’ relationship, and she would divorce from her spouse the very same year that Burt divorced from Loni Anderson. Sally had been married once previously, from 1968 to 1975. Sally’s first marriage was to a man by the name of Alan Steven Craig, while her second marriage was to a man by the name of Alan Greisman. Sally and Alan tied the knot in 1984 before divorcing a decade later. Sally Field is now 75 years old and is still working, with one of her recent notable acting credits being in 2012’s Lincoln.
Although Hollywood icon Burt Reynolds went to his deathbed claiming that Sally Field had been the love of his life, Sally claims that Burt only felt that way because she was the most unattainable of his former lovers. Now it’s time to hear from you: did you know that Burt Reynolds went to his deathbed claiming that actress Sally Field had meant more to him than either of his two wives, and that Sally claims that Burt was being completely delusional about the whole thing? As always, like this video to show your support, and subscribe and hit the notification bell if you’d like to be among the first to know when more Facts Verse videos are on their way!
