‘This Would Hurt Him’: Sally Field Was Glad Burt Reynolds Never Read Her Confession about Their Romance

Hollywood legend Burt Reynolds deemed starlet Sally Field as the love of his life. Yet he broke her heart, and she stopped talking to him for 30 years.

In a candid interview with Vanity Fair in November 2015, actor Burt Reynolds talked about ruining his relationship with actress Sally Field. He said she was “the love of my life.”

According to Country Living, Reynolds and Field called it quits in the 1980s, and he regretted it later.

Actor Burt Reynolds and actress Sally Field during Bert Reynolds and Sally Field sighting at Steak Pit Restaurant on March 15, 1978 in Los Angeles, California ┃Source: Getty Images

Reynolds expressed how much he longed for Field, adding the breakup took its toll on him:

“I miss her terribly. Even now, it’s hard on me. I don’t know why I was so stupid. Men are like that, you know. You find the perfect person, and then you do everything you can to screw it up.”

“The Longest Yard” star further explained: “There isn’t anything, no matter how good it is, or how good it tastes, or how much fun it is, where too much is good for you. It can destroy you.”

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field pictured in a scene from the movie “Smokey and the Bandit III,” on August 8, 1980┃Source: Getty Images

He said one has to learn from their mistakes: “And you have to learn. It’s a hard lesson.” Reynolds said one thing he did not like about himself when he was in a relationship was being cold to her lovers.

Reynolds & Field Met on Set

He first crossed paths with Field on the set of the blockbuster film, “Smokey and the Bandit,” where they played love interests. Field opened up about her romance with the Michigan native during her appearance on “Good Morning America.”

She revealed that she fell for Reynolds’ personality and confidence, adding chemistry ignited between them, and things became even more intense while filming the movie:

“We had known each other about three days, four days at that point. It was instantaneous, and four days felt like four years.”

Field said it was apparent that they were madly in love with each other and explained that there was more to her connection with Reynolds: “There was some ingredient between us having to do with my care-taking of him and him needing to be taken care of.”

Per Closer Weekly, Reynolds made Field feel good about herself, and she, in turn, “wanted to be everything he ever wanted.” However, she soon regretted trying to please him because it resulted in her losing her authentic self: “I dressed for him, looked for him, walked for him.

Burt Reynold and his girlfriend Sally Field attending an outdoor event on August 1, 1977 ┃Source: Getty Images

Field revealed that Reynold had asked for her hand in marriage several times, but she turned down his proposals each time he did that. Field said deep she knew they would end up miserable with each other:

“He asked me to marry him many times, [but] I knew his heart wasn’t in it.”

Even Field’s mom felt uneasy about the couple’s relationship and told Reynolds that she knew that he would “break” her daughter’s “heart” someday.

Sally Field and Burt Reynolds attend “Golda” gala on November 5, 1977 ┃Source: Getty Images

Reynolds revealed to People in November 2015 that he was smitten by Field, adding their love for each other was genuine:

“I really adored her. It was real. She’s very, very special. Her mother and I, I loved her mother.”

The “Deliverance” star divulged that he assured the Academy Award winner’s parent that he would not “break her heart” because that was not his intention:

Sally Field and her mother Margaret Field attend the premiere of the movie, “Beautiful” on September 25, 2000 ┃Source: Getty Images

Fields’ mom said to Reynolds: “I know you’re going to break her heart, but please be gentle.” He responded, “I don’t know how you could break somebody’s heart and be gentle, but I don’t intend to break her heart.”

Yet he did, and Field found the courage to leave him. The pair were together for almost five years before they broke up.

Reynolds Died Days before Field’s Tell-All Book Came Out

In an appearance on ITV’s “This Morning,” Field revealed that Reynolds passed away only four days before her tell-book “In Pieces” came out, wherein she discussed details about their romance. She said, “it was very, very close. It was kind of horrifying that it was so close.”

The California native admitted she did not want to “hurt” Reynolds more than she had already done. Field explained she knew the revelations in the memoir would cause pain to her former lover, although she tried to paint him out to be a “colorful” person.

In September 2018, the “Forrest Gump” star reiterated her statement about the possibility of hurting Reynolds if he had read her book during an interview with the New York Times.

She expressed her sense of relief that he would never have to read it and never have to answer questions about their history, according to what she revealed in her memoir:

“This would hurt him. I felt glad that he wasn’t going to read it, he wasn’t going to be asked about it, and he wasn’t going to have to defend himself or lash out. I did not want to hurt him any further.”

Sally Field as (Gwen Doyle) and Burt Reynolds as (Sonny Hooper) in the 1978 film “Hooper”┃Source: Getty Images

“The “Steel Magnolias” star described Reynolds as a “controlling and distant” partner and that the “weight” of his fame fueled his tendency to “control everyone around him.”

Though the Emmy Award winner said her relationship with the “Hawk” star was “complicated and hurtful,” she also shared that there was also some “loving and caring” for one another.

During Field’s appearance on the talk show “The View” in September 2018, she revealed that she and Reynolds had not spoken in decades before he passed. However, he did typically attempt to reach out to her when he did press interviews, just like he always did when they were dating:

“I really didn’t speak to him for the last 30 years of his life. I would feel him kind of reach out to me via the press. It was something he would even do when we were dating.”

Yet Reynolds was a huge part of Field’s life, and she acknowledged that once saying: “Burt was the most important influence that came into my life other than my children.” She said the TV icon would forever remain in her “heart” and her “history.” Reynolds died on September 6, 2018, at age 82.

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