Yves Montand and Simone Signoret: 35 years of love, passion with a taste of hatred

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

They were an amazing couple. The famous actress and famous singer could be considered a symbol of the family, their marriage bonds seemed so strong and indestructible from the very moment Yves Montand called Simone Señoret his wife. And only Simone herself knew exactly what this idyll cost her. Since then, when a woman appeared next to the singer, whom Simona Señore could hate with all her soul. But the actress did not condescend to such strong feelings for her rival.

The charm of the first meeting

The Yves Montana star was just beginning to move across the horizon of fame, when Simone Signoret was already actively acting in films. In the life of each of them already had their own love story, which left an imprint on their meeting, and on their entire future life.

Yves Montand, who once arrived from Italy, fell into the best hands, which provided him with a rise to the heights of fame and introduced him to the secrets of the female soul. Edith Piaf herself became his mentor, teacher and beloved woman, whose voice was called the soul of Paris. This woman showed him the path along which he had to go without her support. He loved her, but the legendary singer refused all offers of the hand and heart. And then she refused romantic meetings, translating their relationship into a friendly one.

Yves Montand had a hard time breaking up with his beloved woman, and then he gave himself a word never to fall in love again. Then he did not yet know about what amazing women he would meet in his life. One of these meetings will take place in August 1949 at the Golden Dove cafe.

Simone Signoret by the time of meeting with Yves Montand was already married and raised a three-year-old daughter Catherine. Her husband was the famous director Yves Allegre, in whose film she played her first major role back in 1946. She never thought about breaking up with her husband, but meeting with the singer changed her whole life.

They were introduced to each other on August 19, 1949, and the next day they met for lunch together. It seems that it was love at first sight. He took her hand, stretched out for a kiss, and uttered only one phrase: "What are your thin wrists!" From that moment on, they were no longer ready to part.

Soon after they met, she confessed to her husband that she had fallen in love with another. Yves Montand did not want to share his beloved with anyone. However, she very quickly agreed with his arguments. In December 1951, Yves Montand and Simone Signoret became husband and wife. They celebrated the wedding at the Golden Dove Hotel.

Unity of opposites

Yves Montand admired Simone, spoke with enthusiasm about her knowledge of English and Latin, deep knowledge of history. She forced her husband to read books and gently taught good manners. Daughter Catherine, whom Yves Montand adopted, remembered how her parents loved each other. But if at the same time the singer worked a lot, Simone Signoret actually disappeared into her spouse. She began to refuse filming and interviews, enjoyed the role of the keeper of the hearth and sincerely believed that this was what her husband expected of her. It seems that she overdid it a little, creating all the conditions for her husband for creativity. For the image of a housewife soon bored Montana, and he began to pay more and more attention to other women.

Simone starred so rarely that people began to forget about her. And more and more disdain was heard in Montana's voice. She accompanied her husband everywhere, and he was weighed down by her extra-dimensional care. And once at a rehearsal, he could not resist and tried to prick his wife that she was not invited to the shooting.

Simone did not allow herself to flare up. She just calmly went to the phone, dialed a number and immediately, in the presence of her husband, agreed to the role of Teresa Raken in the film of the same name. Thus, she was able to prove to herself and her husband that she still remains in demand as an actress.

In the late 1950s, the couple visited the Soviet Union together, where they got thanks to Sergei Obraztsov, who brought several records with Yves Montand's recordings from a tour. This trip was remembered for a long time by the spouses because of the enchanting reception they received in Moscow. The singer's concerts were always sold out, and Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, at a meeting with Nikita Khrushchev, even expressed their disapproval to the latter about his policy in general and events in Hungary in particular.

True, after returning to France, friends of the spouses accused them of sympathy for the USSR. Yves Montand and Simone Signoret became very close at the time, trying to fend off unfounded attacks.

A drop of hatred

In 1960, Simone won an Oscar for her role in the movie "The Way Up", and in the United States, Yves Montana was offered to star in the movie "Let's Make Love" with Marilyn Monroe, who herself insisted on the candidacy of the French singer. The famous actress, already at the first meeting, fell under the incredible charm of Montana. And she noted that his wife is far from beautiful.

While Montana and Monroe were working on the film, Simone was filmed in Italy, but rumors about her husband's romance and the incomparable Monroe, of course, reached her. But Signoret answered the questions of journalists very restrained. She just wasn't going to ponder whether Montana had something with the blonde diva or not. However, she agreed: Willow could be very lonely, like Marilyn. And they could well have shared this loneliness for two. But when asked about whether her husband would return to her, she confidently nodded her head.

But it was at that time that Simone began to abuse alcohol. She tried to drown in guilt both her own fear of old age and the thoughts of her husband's betrayal. He returned to Paris, but his wife knew for sure: part of his soul remained somewhere there, with a blonde beauty, whom he did not even intend to marry. Monroe was hurt by his firmness and unwillingness to divorce his wife, but Eve said goodbye to her forever, leaving Hollywood.

Simone was never able to survive his betrayal. She grew old and ugly, the gap between her and her husband became insurmountable. Upon learning of the death of her rival in 1962, the wife of Yves Montana just shook her head and said that poor Marilyn never found out how little Simone hated her.

The couple lived together for more than 20 years, until the death of Simone Signoret in 1985. But after this story with Marilyn Monroe, they were always apart. When Simone died, Yves Montand confessed: his dream of dying before Simone was unfulfilled. Still, he loved her, the same blond beauty he had once met in The Golden Dove.

He was not a written handsome man, but he was very talented. He was admired by a multi-million audience, he was idolized and the most beautiful women in the world went crazy for him. Who were the women who were truly loved by the talented French singer and actor Yves Montand?