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 celebrities 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.
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!
1.
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.
2.
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 was short-lived, however, as both were jealous, possessive, and explosive.
They fought often, even in public, which meant their marriage problems frequently made headlines.
After six years, they split up.
3.
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton
In 1963, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were cast alongside one another in the famous
historical film Cleopatra.
At the time, Richard Burton was already married to another actress, Sybil Williams, while
Elizabeth Taylor was 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 the paparazzi captured the
photos which became damning evidence for the affair.
The two actors divorced their respective spouses and got married in 1964.
They were 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.
4.
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, was married to Douglas Fairbanks Jr.
When the two met, however, sparks flew instantly, and it wasn’t long before they were 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 was 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!
5.
Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy
In 1941, Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were cast alongside one another in the 1941
film Woman of the Year.
Spencer Tracy was 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 was still married.
Even more amazing was the fact that their relationship was kept secret to avoid scandal
and wasn't discovered by the general public until much later.
6.
Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart
In 1944, 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
for 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.
7.
Greta Garbo and Mercedes de Acosta
Greta Garbo was known to be involved in a number of lesbian relationships, as was Mercedes
de Acosta, despite being 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.
8.
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 were 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!