16 ~Vintage~ Celeb Affairs That Were So Scandalous They Make Modern Celebrity Drama Look Quaint

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1. Debbie Reynolds and Eddie Fisher were both major stars in their own right when they married, becoming the media's "America's Sweethearts." They had two children together, including Carrie Fisher. And then Fisher left Reynolds for her friend Elizabeth Taylor — by some accounts, her best friend. She had been the matron of honor at Taylor's wedding to Mike Todd and had named her son after Todd. When Todd died in a plane crash soon after, Reynolds sent Fisher to support Taylor...then he decided to be with her instead.

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It was a massive scandal at the time. According to Debbie and Eddie's son Todd, "Eddie was declared a philandering, opportunistic loser, and Elizabeth was labeled a bad-girl, home-wrecking slut." He noted public favor went almost unanimously to his mother, "the good girl." He also said his father's career was ruined due to morality clauses and public outrage, though Debbie and Taylor only became bigger stars — the two later reconciled and were close until Taylor's death in 2011.

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2. This was not Elizabeth Taylor's only scandal involving a married man. While filming Cleopatra in Italy, she had an affair with her costar Richard Burton, who was married to actor-director Sybil Burton. Taylor, for her part, was still married to Fisher. The two were not quiet about their affair on set, often refusing to come out of whichever trailer they were canoodling in, getting into public lovers' spats, and going on romantic vacations together. The press had a field day, and it didn't take long for Fisher to leave Taylor. Taylor's reputation, already bad, turned downright toxic. One US congresswoman tried to block Taylor's return to the states, and the Vatican itself accused Taylor of "erotic vagrancy."

Two people are smiling. One is showing a large ring on their hand

The filming of Cleopatra itself was an absolute disaster, with the budget infamously climbing over $40 million, 22x its original budget. It took over two years to finish, and failed to justify its cost; the massive, constant tabloid coverage overshadowed the actual film. As for Taylor and Burton, they married after production was finished, and lasted a whole decade before they divorced...only to marry again a year later, then divorce again a year after that. She married another man the same year as her second divorce to Burton, and for good measure, divorced him and married a different man in 1991, totaling eight different marriages across her lifetime.

Actor in Cleopatra role, wearing an elaborate Egyptian-inspired costume with gold accessories and braided wig

3. Like Taylor, Bette Davis had a number of affairs. Her first husband was Ham Nelson, her high school sweetheart. Nelson was not overly fond of his wife's Hollywood career, and later blamed it for Davis's mistreatment and neglect of him. It probably didn't help that Davis had an affair with Jezebel director William Wyler, then became pregnant; she feared it was Wyler's child and had an abortion (though she later claimed this was at Nelson's request). This didn't stop her from continuing affairs.

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4. She soon met Howard Hughes, who took an interest in her and asked to meet up again. "I was married. I was bored. I accepted," Davis later recalled. As Hughes and Davis grew closer, she told the press that she was on a "vacation" from her marriage. She had to pay Nelson off in order for him to allow a divorce, borrowing money from the studio, as Hughes refused to help. It seems Hughes was not interested in the drama around Davis's divorce, and the affair ended. Davis had some rather juicy things to say about it later. "You know, I was the only one who ever brought Howard Hughes to a sexual climax, or so he said at that time," she said. "It's true. That is to say, it's true that he said it. Or, let's say, I believed it when he told me that. I was wildly naive at the time. It may have been his regular seduction gambit. Anyway, it worked with me, and it was cheaper than buying gifts. But Howard Huge, he was not."

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5. Then there's Davis's would-be affair — with her Dangerous costar Franchot Tone. Davis was still married to Nelson at the time, but says she "fell in love with Franchot, professionally and privately." However, Tone was in love with a different woman: Joan Crawford. "He was madly in love with her. They met each day for lunch. He would return to the set, his face covered in lipstick. I was jealous of course." It's been speculated that Crawford deliberately went after Tone when she learned Davis was interested — inviting him over, then answering the door with no clothes on.

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Davis claimed, "She took him from me. She did it coldly, deliberately, and with complete ruthlessness. I have never forgiven her for that and never will." Tone and Crawford married, but divorced less than four years later. Her feud with Davis, in contrast, lasted decades. The two famously clashed on the set of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? — which could be its own post, there's so much juicy drama.

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6. Crawford also had plenty of affairs, including cheating on Tone. While starring in Mannequin, she allegedly slept with costar Spencer Tracy. Then, near the end of her three-and-a-half-year marriage with Tone, she allegedly had an affair with 17-year-old Jackie Cooper. How did their affair begin? Well, Crawford invited the Our Gang star over to use her badminton court. He then came onto her, and Crawford was receptive; the affair apparently continued for six months.

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7. Crawford also had an affair with Clark Gable, whom she later called "the only man I ever loved." This began during her first marriage, which was to Douglas Fairbanks Jr. She met Gable, who was engaged to Maria Langham, on the set of Dance, Fools, Dance. Despite being married, Crawford was immediately infatuated: "It was like an electric current went through my body," she said. "If he hadn’t held me by the shoulders, I’d have dropped." They had, according to Crawford, "a glorious affair" that "lasted longer than anybody knows." The two spend hours canoodling in a trailer bought for Crawford by Fairbanks Jr., angering MGM head Louis B. Mayer, who threatened to fire them.

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He apparently requested that Gable go on a date with his wife, hoping the press would take photos that would quiet speculation. Instead, Gable only made things worse: he brought Crawford and Fairbanks Jr. along, then left the restaurant with Crawford — leaving both of their spouses behind together. Crawford and Gable were meant to star in another picture, Letty Lynton; Mayer, refusing to continue dealing with this nonsense, fired Gable and hired Robert Montgomery instead.

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Crawford and Gable's affair was on-again, off-again, unimpeded by Crawford's marriages, though it suffered a setback when Gable wed, causing drama when the two costarred in Strange Cargo. After his wife died, the two reconnected, ultimately becoming friends. Probably for the best, considering all the drama whenever the two entangled.

Vintage movie poster for "Strange Cargo" with illustrated portraits of actors and highlighted names Clark Gable and Joan Crawford

8. One of Hollywood's most lasting affairs was Katharine Hepburn's with Spencer Tracy. The two met when they were cast to play love interests in the romantic comedy Woman of the Year. Hepburn was single; Tracy was married to a woman named Louise Tracy, though the two were increasingly estranged, given Tracy's numerous affairs and a career which often took him far from home. Still, Tracy was not interested in leaving his wife; he wanted to spare her the scandal, especially as she was focused on caring for their Deaf son. He began an affair with Hepburn, but only during the week; on the weekends, he'd go home to Louise and his two children.

Movie poster for "State of the Union" features a man and woman in 1940s style clothing looking at each other lovingly

Apparently, this arrangement was alright with Hepburn, who was not very interested in marriage or children. (She had been married and divorced once and proclaimed she was too "selfish" for children.) Their 27-year affair lasted through nine films together, until Tracy's death from a heart attack in 1967. He'd long had ill health, and Hepburn even took a long break from Hollywood to care for him, living in his home. Despite the truth being an open secret in Hollywood, Hepburn did not publicly admit to the affair until Tracy's wife Louise was dead, 16 years after Tracy himself had died. She hadn't even gone to Tracy's funeral, out of respect for Louise.

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She finally wrote about the affair in her 1991 memoir, referring to their relationship as "absolute bliss" to her, though she said she wasn't sure how Tracy felt about her. "I can only say, I think that if he hadn't liked me, he wouldn't have hung around. As simple as that. He wouldn't talk about it, and I didn't talk about it," Hepburn wrote. "It is called LOVE."

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9. Before Italian actor Sophia Loren became a major sex symbol and Oscar-winner, she was just a teenager in acting school, appearing in bit parts. At age 15, she met the 40-year-old* film producer Carlo Ponti. This would prove instrumental to her career: She'd appear in 34 of his films. However, their relationship went beyond professional, despite Ponti's age...and the fact that he was married. Ponti was more than willing to end his marriage, but divorce was then illegal in Italy. He sent lawyers to Mexico to try to seek a divorce, and Ponti and Loren illegally wed in 1957, when Loren was 23. Italian authorities were not pleased; after tabloids revealed the news, they charged Ponti with bigamy and accused Loren of essentially being a sex worker.

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"I was being threatened with excommunication, with the everlasting fire, and for what reason?" Loren lamented. "I had fallen in love with a man whose own marriage had ended long before." The marriage was annulled, but they continued living together; they eventually wed again in 1966. While they remained together until Ponti's death, neither party stayed completely faithful. One affair was early on, just before her first (illegal) wedding to Ponti. By 1957, Loren was already a massive star in Italy, and she was beginning to make waves in America, too. She was cast in The Pride and the Passion, which had a stacked cast, with Frank Sinatra and Cary Grant.

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Grant fell for Loren right away, despite the fact that Grant was also married to another woman, the actor and writer Betsy Drake. He was also 30 years older than Loren. He set up intimate dinners for Loren and helped her with her English, then asked Loren to leave Ponti for him. This may have backfired, as it apparently led to Ponti accelerating his marriage plans. Loren faced a choice, but she was still in love with Ponti and was resistant to the idea of giving that up. "I was very affectionate with Cary, but I was 23 years old. I couldn't make up my mind to marry a giant from another country and leave Carlo. I didn't feel like making the big step," Loren said.

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The mutual attraction wasn't quite finished, despite Loren choosing Ponti. Grant's next project was set to be Houseboat, which had been penned by his wife, who was meant to star. Grant was so infatuated with Loren that he essentially fired his own wife and had Loren take her place. This naturally set off media gossip; then, during filming, news broke about Loren and Ponti's marriage in Mexico (which had occurred by proxy; their lawyers stood in for them). "On set, Cary, who was slightly dazed and, at last, resigned, reacted in a truly gentlemanly way: 'All the best, Sophia. I hope you'll be happy,'" Loren said, recalling Grant's reaction. Cary sent her yellow roses after filming was completed (usually understood to be a sign of friendship).

Cary Grant and Sophia Loren promotional image for the film "Houseboat." Both are smiling and dressed formally

10. Today, Ingrid Bergman is known as one of the most famous and celebrated actors of the Golden Age of Hollywood. But her career came into serious jeopardy in 1950 due to one of that era's biggest scandals. Bergman, who was married to neurosurgeon Petter Lindström, was off in Italy on the set of Stromboli when it was revealed that she was having an affair with the film's director, Italian filmmaker Roberto Rossellini, who was also married. It gets even more scandalous: Bergman, who already had a daughter with Lindström, was pregnant. As Bergman was particularly known for her pure image, having once played Joan of Arc, this especially shocked the American people.

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Her reputation was so bad that she was called a "powerful influence for evil" on the floor of the US Senate, and talk show host Ed Sullivan declined to have her on the show a full seven years later, after viewers sent thousands of angry letters. The film also tanked as a result of the affair, and Bergman's Hollywood career disappeared overnight. As far as her personal life, she attempted to immediately divorce Lindström so she could marry Rossellini (who secured a divorce from his wife), but he refused to do so until her son with Rossellini was born, forcing him to be born out of wedlock. The custody battle for their daughter, Pia, was also ugly, and Bergman did not see her daughter with Lindström for seven years.

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Bergman stayed away from the US for almost a decade, continuing her career in Europe. Her Hollywood comeback was not until 1956's Anastasia; she and Rossellini divorced the next year, and it seemed America was ready to forgive. At the 1959 Oscars, she presented for Best Picture and got a standing ovation from her peers.

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11. One of the most shocking, longstanding Old Hollywood rumors was that Loretta Young's daughter was fathered during an affair with Clark Gable. And folks...this is one rumor that's actually 100% TRUE. Let's break it down. In 1937, Young brought a 19-month-old child home, saying she had adopted her from Europe. In reality, her daughter, Judy Lewis, was her biological daughter; she'd hidden the pregnancy on a long trip overseas, then put Lewis in various orphanages and under others' care until she could convincingly pass her off as adopted.

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Even with this ruse, the press was suspicious. It had long been rumored that Young had had an affair with the married Gable while shooting Call of the Wild. At the time, Gable was married to his second wife, Maria "Ria" Franklin. By 1935, when the film came out, it was reported that they had separated, though it would be another four years before they divorced. Despite Franklin not mentioning infidelity in her filing, gossip proliferated for years. Young refused to address the rumors and even kept the truth from her daughter.

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The truth didn't even fully come out until Young's death; she finally admitted in her posthumous memoirs that the rumors were true. Her daughter Judy later revealed that she had confronted her mother about the subject, leading Young to run into the bathroom and vomit. Young later confirmed the truth to Judy, but not the world. Gable was never involved in Judy's life and would not even acknowledge her existence.

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The real story goes beyond shocking and sad to even more messed-up territory. While Young never spoke publicly about the circumstances of Judy's conception, according to her daughter-in-law, Linda Lewis, in the '90s, Young had asked her what date rape meant after hearing the term on Larry King Live. After Lewis explained, Young replied, "That’s what happened between me and Clark." On the train ride back from shooting Call of the Wild on location, Gable had allegedly snuck into Young's compartment. Gable was not alive then to confirm or deny this occurred.

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12. One more Clark Gable story: while still married to Langham, just one year after Call of the Wild was released, he began a relationship with Carole Lombard. The two did not get along very well at first, after initially appearing in No Man of Her Own in 1932. When they met again in 1936, Lombard was wary of the rumors about Young and brought them up to Gable, angering him. She sent an apology in the form of doves — yes, literal doves — which she ordered to be released in his room while sleeping, with a note attached. This was a bit less scandalous than Gable's other affairs, given he and Langham were already known to be on the rocks. Still, marrying her just 22 days after his divorce with Langham was finalized was not a great look.

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13. We mentioned Frank Sinatra briefly on this list, but he warrants another look. Sinatra was already married to a woman named Nancy when he made it big, with whom he had three children. After becoming famous, it didn't take long for Sinatra to start sleeping around. But his most famous affair was with Ava Gardner, who also, at the time, was employed at MGM. Their first romantic encounter apparently came after Sinatra drunkenly persuaded Gardner to leave a party with him, then brought her to a small town nearby, where Sinatra started shooting streetlights and invited Gardner to join him.

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She did, shooting a window of a nearby hardware store, leading to the two being arrested; the studio stepped in to pay them off before the media could find out. MGM boss Louis B. Mayer told Gardner to stay away from Sinatra, but she refused to listen. Thus began a dramatic affair. Sinatra was eager to leave his wife, but Nancy wasn't on the same page. Gardner, who had already been married twice, exhibited some reluctance to the whole thing — she once forced Sinatra to call his wife and vocally confirm he had asked for a divorce while Gardner stood there. With that confirmation, all that was left was for Nancy to give in. After she did in 1951, Sinatra and Gardner's marriage came just three days later.

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The marriage was toxic from the start, and neither was faithful. Gardner had an affair with her Singapore costar Fred MacMurray. MacMurray was also married, and Gardner cut things off after discovering his wife was ill, which proved a moral boundary she wouldn't cross. She cheated again with bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín. Sinatra, for his part, also cheated; Gardner apparently received a letter the day before their wedding from a sex worker claiming they'd had an affair, and these antics continued post-wedding. They'd publicly fight and make up constantly, and both drank heavily. Gardner also became pregnant with Sinatra's child twice, but got abortions both times, unsure about their ability to create a stable family.

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Gardner actually filed for separation a few years into their marriage, but it would take a few more years for both to commit to the process. As to why she stayed, referencing his thin 119-lb. frame, Gardner said, "Well, I'll tell you — nineteen pounds is cock." They ultimately divorced in 1957. Gardner never married again, though Sinatra did — twice. The two remained friends.

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14. Gary Cooper was well into his 40s when he began an affair with Patricia Neal, who was in her early 20s, on the set of 1949's The Fountainhead. This was despite the fact that Cooper had been married to the aristocrat Veronica Balfe since 1933. Neal fell hard for the man over two decades her senior: "Gary touched my heart as no one else had done before. I was really in love, and it was like I was innocent again," she later said. However, she knew: "We were not building a future together. We were seizing moments." As rumors of the affair grew, Veronica confronted her husband, and Cooper admitted the affair and his love for Neal.

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Cooper's 11-year-old daughter, Maria, was not pleased with the news: "The child looked at me and spat on the ground," Neal recalled in her autobiography. "Such a little girl and she spat with so much hate." During the affair, Neal became pregnant, but Cooper wanted her to have an illegal abortion, saying, "I suppose we have to, Pat." Neal reluctantly obliged, but lived to regret it: "For years and years I cried over that baby. If I had only one thing to do over in my life, I would have that baby."

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Her relationship with Cooper ended in 1951; he would not officially divorce his wife to marry her, and so Neal ended the affair. This came amid rumors Cooper had had another affair — with Grace Kelly during High Noon. Neal was so distraught by the end of their love affair that she had a nervous breakdown: "Oh, how I loved him. I was in another world when it ended. I couldn't talk. I lost 25 pounds. I felt life was over."

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Neal's Hollywood career was in shambles due to the reputational damage from the affair. Fleeing to New York, she met future Matilda author Roald Dahl. The two wed soon thereafter and had five children together. Their life was marred by tragedy, including the death of one of their daughters and Neal's sudden strokes at age 39, while she was pregnant with their fifth. She credited Dahl with her miraculous recovery, which involved having to relearn how to speak. She even returned to acting, nabbing an Oscar nomination for her first role back. But her relationship with Dahl would suffer its own scandal.

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After Neal struck up a close friendship with a British woman named Felicity Crosland, who had worked with Neal on a series of commercials, she became a mainstay at their home. Unbeknownst to Neal, she soon began an affair with Dahl. Neal found out and confronted her husband: Dahl was contrite, pledging to end the relationship. He didn't, at least, not for long — five years later, Neal was informed by one of her daughters that the affair was ongoing. A friend later claimed Dahl "threw her out of her home, laughingly—laughing, 'Get out of here you tramp.' He just took her to an airport and put her on a plane and said just get out of my life, get out of the country." She moved back to New York (the two had relocated to London years earlier), remembering, "I wanted to kill Ronald. It was the most horrible, horrendous thing." Dahl asked for a divorce in 1983 and married Crosland soon after it was finalized.

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Gary Cooper actually returned to his wife following his affair with Neal. However, he'd soon stray again, with actor Anita Ekberg. They were spotted shacking up in Malibu together, and the images hit a tabloid front page. Cooper's wife was not pleased, but, as Gary told her, "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Cooper and his wife remained together, though there were continued rumors of affairs, and Cooper died of cancer in 1961. Neal recalled her reaction: "A tempting voice whispered to me, 'You will never again have to look twice when you see a tall, lanky man with a certain stance... You will know he can never again be there. Now you can rest.'"

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15. Actor Tyrone Power wed French actor Annabella in 1939. However, WWII, along with the couple's difficulty in conceiving, strained their relationship, and Power began having affairs. One was allegedly with the then-21-year-old Wizard of Oz star Judy Garland. In 1943, Garland became pregnant and was pressured by studio execs to have an abortion. Power then had an affair with Lana Turner — reportedly after he had separated from his wife, but before their official divorce. In her memoir, Turner remembered, "No man except possibly Tyrone Power took the time to find out that I was a human being, not just a pretty, shapely little thing." The pair's affair lasted 18 months.

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Turner became pregnant as a result of the affair, but, as in the case of Garland, an abortion was arranged for her. Power ended their relationship after meeting another woman on a trip to Europe and Africa, and soon married her: Mexican actor Linda Christian. Turner was devastated; her daughter later said that to Turner, Power was "the one that got away."

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16. And finally, we'll end on an example that's a bit later than the rest, and in the music world, but is too wild not to include. One of music's biggest love triangles involves the Beatles. After meeting on the set of Hard Days Night, model Pattie Boyd and George Harrison wed in 1966. Some of Harrison's best-known songs for the band, including "Something" and "I Need You," were written about Boyd. But there was trouble in paradise, particularly as Harrison began to experiment more and more with drugs. The bigger problem, though, was his penchant for sleeping around. As a member of the most famous band in the world, affair partners were easy to find, but Harrison went for perhaps the worst possible choice: Ringo Starr's wife, Maureen Starkey.

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Meanwhile, Boyd was being courted by another very famous man: Harrison's best friend, Eric Clapton. He began sending her love notes, despite being involved with both aristocrat Alice Ormsby-Gore and none other than Boyd's own sister. The first, in 1970, read: "I am writing this letter to you, with the main purpose of ascertaining your feelings towards a subject well known to both of us....as you have probably gathered, my own home affairs are a galloping farce, which is rapidly degenerating day by intolerable day." He continued, "What I wish to ask you is if you still love your husband? All these questions are very impertinent, I know, but if there is still a feeling in your heart for me…you must let me know!"

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He ended with a request to reply via letter, as that was "safer" than calling; not that he followed his own advice. He called Boyd later that same day, which was smart given Boyd had dismissed the letter as from one of her many fans. Later, her wrote her again: "Why do you hesitate, am I a poor lover, am I ugly, am I too weak, too strong, do you know why?" It all came to a head when Clapton played Boyd his new song: "Layla," clearly about her. It was so beautiful and so magical," Boyd said. "I was so flattered, but I was also so worried that George would work out why Eric had written this song."

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At a party with all three parties present, he played the song and admitted the truth to Harrison: he was in love with Pattie. Still, Pattie did not leave Harrison for Clapton, despite her own marriage falling apart. After Boyd and Harrison divorced in 1974, the two found each other again and were wed in 1979. Surprisingly, things didn't become quite as dicey between Harrison and Clapton as you'd think. According to Boyd, Harrison told her, "Well, I'm glad you're going off with Eric instead of some idiot." He came to their wedding, referred to himself as the "husband-in-law," and remained friends with Pattie until his 2001 death.

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Clapton and Boyd's relationship, meanwhile, was far from blissful. Clapton later admitted to alcoholism, abuse, and rape during his marriage to Boyd. "There were times when I just took sex with my wife by force and thought that was my entitlement," he said. Clapton also had multiple affairs; after his relationship with Italian model Lory Del Santo ended with Del Santo becoming pregnant and giving birth to a son, Pattie could no longer take it. The two divorced in 1989. The son, Conor, died at age 4 after falling out of a high-rise NYC apartment window; that same year, it was revealed that Clapton had also fathered another child while married to Boyd, without her ever knowing: a daughter named Ruth.

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Clapton became far more involved in Ruth's life after his son's death, writing in his autobiography that this helped him get through his grief over losing his son. Clapton and Boyd must have at one point reconciled, as it seems like there are no longer any hard feelings. Both are still alive, and Boyd went to one of Clapton's concerts earlier this year.

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