Robin Williams' first wife recently came forward in a heartbreaking confession, saying that
she tolerated her late husband's infidelity for ten years of their marriage.
She allowed the actor to step out of their marriage, hoping he would stop once he was
satisfied.
Instead, she was unknowingly feeding his lust to a point where Williams left her for their
child's nanny.
Williams had a successful career, but behind closed doors, his relationships were failing,
and his life was falling apart.
With three different marriages, his death left havoc among his family who couldn't agree
on the actor's will.
Which wife deserved more?
Valerie, who tolerated years of infidelity?
Marsha, who spent over twenty years by his side while he struggled with substance abuse?
Or Susan, who was married to him when he passed?
Williams was a broke actor desperately trying to make it when he met Valerie Velardi and
caught her attention.
He had nothing, not a dime to his name, no fame and no power.
So the only thing Valerie fell for was the real him.
The man we all knew and loved, the guy who had a gentle heart, an outspoken personality
and the ability to make anyone laugh uncontrollably.
Who could ever forget Mrs Doubtfire?
Or the line he improvised in Goodwill Hunting, that left Matt Damon chuckling in TEARS!
"He was bartending.
He had a French accent, offered me a drink, chatted me up and was absolutely delightful."
she shared, "He asked me for a ride home.
He was speaking French and I was teasing him and we had a kiss.
And I just knew I was going to see him again."
But soon, Valerie would realise that she was not the only one who fell in love with those
qualities about Williams.
When the actor was finally noticed for one of his stand-up skits, he got a once in a
lifetime opportunity to star in the popular Mork and Mindy show which kickstarted his
career.
And after appearing in one show after the other, more gigs began lining up for the comedy
star.
By this time, Robin and Valerie's non-stop dates had turned into marriage vows.
From the outside, the couple seemed perfect to all that knew them.
Their love seemed simple and rosy, but in reality things were complicated and they were
trying hard to hide the cracks in their marriage.
The truth behind their "perfect family" picture was a devastating story.
With each anniversary they shared, Williams moved a step closer to fame, his career growing
bigger and bigger.
That aspiring star was no longer a bartender.
He wasn't some nobody making jokes at odd hours in a nightclub.
He had now become one of the most loved men on the Hollywood scene, hanging around with
big names like Robert De Niro in the flashy city of L.A. And with temptation luring him
in from every angle, those vows he once said slowly lost their value.
Williams could not resist the charming and impulsive life of fame and began stepping
out of his marriage.
Worst of all, his wife knew the whole time.
While Williams continued seeing other women, Valerie did all that she could to keep their
relationship intact.
She even convinced herself to tolerate his infidelity, hoping that it was just a phase
he would outgrow.
"He loved women.
Absolutely loved women.
And I got it.
I understood and I wanted him to have that, but I also wanted him to come home,"
Despite all her efforts, Williams left her unhappy and heartbroken.
While trying to keep their marriage together, the couple welcomed their son, Zachary.
This could have been a beautiful opportunity for the couple to grow closer to one another
but instead they grew apart.
Marsha Garces was the woman who was meant to help lift a weight off the couple's shoulders.
Barely having enough time for one another, they needed her to help with raising Zach.
Little did Valerie know that by hiring her, she had just made the biggest mistake ever,
one that would cement the end of her and Robin's marriage.
Williams' wandering eye was not limited to the flirtatious women in showbiz.
In fact, the woman who would lure him away from his relationship was right under his
nose, taking care of his son the whole time.
It wasn't long after his divorce to Valerie that he quickly moved on with Marsha, which
left many questions in the air.
Did their affair only begin once Williams was divorced, or was he cheating with her
all along?
Who knows when their love affair started, but one thing was clear, Robin was ready to
start a life with Marsha.
Shortly after his divorce Williams proposed to Marsha, and they said I do while she was
carrying their first daughter, Zelda.
The following year, the couple welcomed a second child, Cody, into their family.
But during what became almost two decades together, Robin was tempted by something else.
And this time, it wasn't just another woman who could have destroyed his marriage, but
something that could have destroyed his life.
As the world soon discovered, there was a shockingly dark truth behind Robin's comedic
personality.
He presented the world with the most contagious happiness and reasons to smile, while fighting
depression in real life.
And it was during this time that substance abuse seemed like the perfect escape.
Williams' battle with illegal substances and alcohol really hurt his marriage.
The actor took some time in rehab, hoping to recover.
Unfortunately, after working so hard to better himself, he relapsed again.
Finally, a family intervention is what gave him a wake-up call.
The actor realised what was at stake.
He didn't want to lose his children and decided to check himself in for therapy a second time.
And although this time he stayed on track, it was not enough to keep his relationship
afloat.
He won back the hearts of his children, but sadly it was a little too late for his marriage.
Recalling how his battle affected the love he shared with Marsha, the actor said
"You know, I was shameful, and you do stuff that causes disgust, and that's hard to recover
from.
You can say, 'I forgive you' and all that stuff, but it's not the same as recovering
from it.
It's not coming back."
And that just left everyone wondering what it was that Williams did that was so shameful.
Was he just being hard on himself, or did he truly mess up what he had with Marsha to
the point of no return?
William's son seems to believe that his father didn't see himself in the same light that
others did.
The legendary comedian did not perceive himself as successful.
Now he may have bagged an Oscar for his role in Good Will Hunting and had dozens more critical
acclaim to his name, but maybe that wasn't enough.
Maybe he was longing to excel in things that added more value to his life, like love, fatherhood
and general happiness.
Fortunately for Williams, life gave him a third chance at love, with graphic designer
Susan Schneider . Williams shared that this time he wanted to take things slow.
He had jumped into his first relationship and right into his second, and now he just
wanted to take his time with the new romance.
But love had other plans, and just a year after his divorce, he was walking down the
altar for the third time.
Williams may have quickly moved on, but it was said that he still harboured a large amount
of guilt for what happened between him and Marsha.
Who could blame him, those were nineteen unforgettable years of his life.
Just as one thing was fixed in the actor's life, another one broke.
He had mended his relationships and found love again, but the substance abuse may have
already done its damage on Robin's heart.
Williams received the most devastating news about his health.
The actor needed to undergo heart surgery to replace his aortic valve and correct his
irregular heartbeat.
Though the surgery was successful, its after-effects may have affected the actor's mental health.
Depression is considered one of the side effects of cardiac surgery.
Since Robin had a history of struggling with depression, doctors believe that it might
have triggered his downward spiral.
And so, something that was meant to improve his quality of life ended up leading to his
demise.
After years of fighting his demons and feeling like he was losing every time, Williams eventually
lost his battle with depression.
The actor left all his loved ones completely heartbroken when he took his own life in 2014.
Even more crushing for his family, the actor was reportedly misdiagnosed with Parkinson's
disease as an autopsy later revealed that he actually had Lewy Body dementia.
It wasn't long after laying his body to rest that a battle broke out between William's
new wife and her stepchildren.
With all the pain and loss they had already experienced, this was just rubbing salt into
the wound.
The late legend had left a hefty one hundred million dollars -plus his estate to his children.
HOWEVER, in needing to provide for his wife, she was allowed to remain in the house they
shared together, although it would eventually be inherited by his kids.
William's children had no issue with this.
The bad blood arose when it came down to the actor’s possessions.
No matter how much money each party received, some things are just priceless.
And for Zachary, Zelda and Cody, those were the items they held dear to their fathers'
memory.
Like his entertainment awards, including six Golden Globes, five Grammys, two Emmys, and
an Oscar.
They also wanted other belongings that existed before his third marriage, like personal photos,
the tuxedo he wore on his wedding day, jewellery and prized possessions.
Susan, on the other side, felt as though Williams wanted her to live in their house the way
it was before he passed, without anything being removed or disrupted.
The kids felt it was just "greed" and a sneaky way of wanting to increase the value of the
trust their father left for her, despite being married to him for "less than three years".
Who was in the wrong?
Susan for wanting to remember her life with Robin as it was?
Or Robin's children for wanting rightful possessions that reminded them of their father?
What do you think, Juicers?
Let us know in the comment section below, and thank you for choosing Rumour Juice.