Sally Field’s Hollywood Heartbreak
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Sally Field surfed into our living rooms with TV’s “Gidget” in 1965 and became America’s sweetheart, but behind the spunky smile lives a woman wracked by despair — a struggling, twice-divorced single mom whose romantic dreams were dashed by her one true love, Burt Reynolds!
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“Sally is as warm and sweet as she appears, and there isn’t a person in Hollywood who has a bad word to say about her,” The National ENQUIRER learned from a friend of the 70-year-old star. “Sadly, her personal life hasn’t struck gold like her acting career did.”
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Los Angeles-born Sally had her world torn apart at age 4 when her parents split up. Though her mom, Margaret, remarried stuntman Jock Mahoney, the family existed hand to mouth. “One day someone came and took all our stuff away!” Sally recalled in an interview.
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She grew up in fear of her abusive stepfather, whom she called “both cruel and loving.” Once, in a fit of temper, Jock threw Sally across the yard. “There was always the threat of violence in the air,” Sally revealed. “I never felt safe.”
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Her “confusing” feelings for her stepfather shaped the way she later related to men. “He was big and handsome — I was both terrified and madly in love with him,” she said. “That stayed with me as I grew up: I was attracted only to men I simultaneously feared and loved.”
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In 1968, she wed Steven Craig and the couple had two sons, Peter and Eli. But when the marriage went bust after seven years, and Sally found herself without a man or a TV show, she did the movie “Stay Hungry,” which required a nude scene opposite Jeff Bridges!
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“I couldn’t hide how humiliating it was for me; I burst into tears,” she said. Fortunately, she soon landed her breakout role in the mini-series “Sybil,” playing a woman with multiple personalities. After that, Burt Reynolds came calling to sign her up for “Smokey and the Bandit.”
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"I thought if I did a movie with Burt and he thought I was cute, then somebody else might think I was cute and I could continue acting," Sally recalled. "I was single with two kids — I had to earn a living!”
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Burt and Sally’s “Smokey” chemistry sizzled off camera, but their roller-coaster love was fraught with fights. And as her career continued to skyrocket, his began to plummet, causing more friction. When a solo Sally accepted her Academy Award for 1979’s “Norma Rae,” Burt wasn't there.
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“People said, ‘Why wasn’t he at the Oscars?’ I didn’t want him to go!” she insisted, explaining the two of them were spatting when she “just threw the dishes, packed my bag and left. I didn’t ask him to come to the Oscars with me.”
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While Sally said, “relationships go through rough times [and] if they’re important to you … you make those rough times make it better,” her romance with Burt failed to improve much. He refused to settle down, breaking her heart.
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“Burt was the most important thing that ever happened in my life,” she said. “I wanted to be everything he ever wanted.” Too bad Burt thought he wanted more! As readers of The ENQUIRER know, Burt now regrets their 1982 split.
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Two years later, Sally tied the knot with Alan Greisman, and three years later had their son, Sam. But by 1994 that marriage ended, and Sally, on her own yet again, learned to love herself. “In my late 50s, I began to embrace myself,” she shares. “I’m not as worried anymore about what other people think.”
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Photo credit: Getty Images
Sally, shown here with Sam in 2013, admits to one significant regret. “I certainly would in life have wanted to know — would like to know — what it was like to have a real partner.”
Sally Field surfed into our living rooms with TV’s “Gidget” in 1965 and became America’s sweetheart, but behind the spunky smile lives a woman wracked by despair — a struggling, twice-divorced single mom whose romantic dreams were dashed by her one true love, Burt Reynolds!
Photo credit: Getty Images
“Sally is as warm and sweet as she appears, and there isn’t a person in Hollywood who has a bad word to say about her,” The National ENQUIRER learned from a friend of the 70-year-old star. “Sadly, her personal life hasn’t struck gold like her acting career did.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Los Angeles-born Sally had her world torn apart at age 4 when her parents split up. Though her mom, Margaret, remarried stuntman Jock Mahoney, the family existed hand to mouth. “One day someone came and took all our stuff away!” Sally recalled in an interview.
Photo credit: Getty Images
She grew up in fear of her abusive stepfather, whom she called “both cruel and loving.” Once, in a fit of temper, Jock threw Sally across the yard. “There was always the threat of violence in the air,” Sally revealed. “I never felt safe.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Her “confusing” feelings for her stepfather shaped the way she later related to men. “He was big and handsome — I was both terrified and madly in love with him,” she said. “That stayed with me as I grew up: I was attracted only to men I simultaneously feared and loved.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
In 1968, she wed Steven Craig and the couple had two sons, Peter and Eli. But when the marriage went bust after seven years, and Sally found herself without a man or a TV show, she did the movie “Stay Hungry,” which required a nude scene opposite Jeff Bridges!
Photo credit: Getty Images
“I couldn’t hide how humiliating it was for me; I burst into tears,” she said. Fortunately, she soon landed her breakout role in the mini-series “Sybil,” playing a woman with multiple personalities. After that, Burt Reynolds came calling to sign her up for “Smokey and the Bandit.”
Photo credit: Files
"I thought if I did a movie with Burt and he thought I was cute, then somebody else might think I was cute and I could continue acting," Sally recalled. "I was single with two kids — I had to earn a living!”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Burt and Sally’s “Smokey” chemistry sizzled off camera, but their roller-coaster love was fraught with fights. And as her career continued to skyrocket, his began to plummet, causing more friction. When a solo Sally accepted her Academy Award for 1979’s “Norma Rae,” Burt wasn't there.
Photo credit: Getty Images
“People said, ‘Why wasn’t he at the Oscars?’ I didn’t want him to go!” she insisted, explaining the two of them were spatting when she “just threw the dishes, packed my bag and left. I didn’t ask him to come to the Oscars with me.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
While Sally said, “relationships go through rough times [and] if they’re important to you … you make those rough times make it better,” her romance with Burt failed to improve much. He refused to settle down, breaking her heart.
Photo credit: Getty Images
“Burt was the most important thing that ever happened in my life,” she said. “I wanted to be everything he ever wanted.” Too bad Burt thought he wanted more! As readers of The ENQUIRER know, Burt now regrets their 1982 split.
Photo credit: Getty Images
Two years later, Sally tied the knot with Alan Greisman, and three years later had their son, Sam. But by 1994 that marriage ended, and Sally, on her own yet again, learned to love herself. “In my late 50s, I began to embrace myself,” she shares. “I’m not as worried anymore about what other people think.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
Sally, shown here with Sam in 2013, admits to one significant regret. “I certainly would in life have wanted to know — would like to know — what it was like to have a real partner.”
Photo credit: Getty Images
