"I'm crazy about this guy ": the lost love of Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer

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

Once Audrey sent Mel a platinum watch as a gift, it was engraved with "I'm crazy about this guy." The songs of Noel Coward, popular at that time, turned for lovers into a secret password in their relationship. Mel Ferrer became the lover of Audrey Hepburn, a famous Hollywood actress. But the beauty's personal life, which millions of men dreamed of, was not like a Hollywood fairy tale.

There is no time for novels …

“She has no time for romance. Work is her only vocation,”Peter Finch, Audrey's partner in the cinema, once said with regret. And indeed Audrey was always wary of love affairs, she often went into work with her head and did not notice anyone around. This was exactly until the moment of meeting with actor William Holden. He was her co-star in Sabrina. It was mutual sympathy with plans for the future, but the lovers were separated by Holden's illness, he could not have children, and Audrey really wanted them. The breakup was painful for both.

In the summer of 1953, at a party in London, Audrey Hepburn met Mel Ferrer. He was 12 years older than Audrey, and by that time had already starred in the film "Lily". He became a real prince for her. And she didn’t hear anything that evil tongues spoke about him. Clever, kind, writes children's books, puts on performances and is quite familiar with Hollywood - this was Mel Ferrer for Audrey.

Mel's first gift for Audrey was a seaweed necklace, which he presented to her after the premiere of the play "Ondine". Audrey was a mermaid in the story, and Mel was a knight. It was then that the actress felt that she had finally found a strong male shoulder to lean on. Increasingly, Audrey Hepburn and Mel Ferrer began to appear together and were given interviews only together.

In the spring of 1954, Mel proposed to her, and the actress accepted him. On the occasion of her 37th birthday, Audrey presented her beloved with that very engraved watch. She really went crazy with love.

The wedding ceremony took place on September 24, and the next day - the wedding ceremony, which was attended only by relatives. The paparazzi dreamed of taking a photo of the newlyweds, but they hid their private lives in every possible way.

Mel got into the role of husband pretty quickly. He was worried about Audrey's health, supported her in every possible way, was with her on the set. Often they starred in the same film or in locations that were nearby.

Ups and downs

During the filming of War and Peace, Audrey had a miscarriage, it was a great grief for a young woman who dreamed of motherhood. During the filming of "Funny Face" Audrey turned her hotel room with her husband into a cozy nest for two, she still dreamed of becoming a mother and did not lose hope. But 1957 brought the couple parting. Ferrer's career was not going well, so they could no longer act on the same set. Ferrer was offered a role in The Sun Also Rises, which was perhaps his last hope of success. Audrey supported her husband. But the separation affected them too badly: Audrey drank, Mel did not leave the phone. As a result, the woman refused all proposals for filming for a year and went after her husband.

But such a coveted role did not bring the long-awaited fame to Ferrer. Audrey, on the contrary, with each film became more and more popular, and then the actor decided to become the director of the film "Green Manors", where Audrey was supposed to star. Unfortunately, the picture failed both critically and at the box office. Ferrer's failures were already hard to count …

From happiness to separation

The summer of 1959 was the happiest in their family. Audrey found out about pregnancy, and in January 1960, a child was born. The boy was named Sean. Audrey finally found what she had dreamed of for so many years. She was so happy that she was ready to give up her career for the sake of her family. She no longer dreamed of traveling, devoting herself to home. But her husband was not ready to change his life so drastically, they began to move further and further from each other.

In 1960, the couple are still trying to mend their relationship. They live outside the city, Mel unsuccessfully blown himself out in the director's field. And then William Holden reappears in Audrey's life. It seemed to her that the old feelings flared up again, and Mel, it seems, did not care about this. Audrey tried to keep the family as best she could: she defeated passion and went after her husband, who decided to travel around Europe.

Audrey could not understand for a long time what was driving her husband on the road until she found out that he was carried away by a young dancer, a girl named Marisol. In revenge, Audrey started an affair with a young actor Albert Finney, with whom she starred in the movie "Two on the Road". The marriage was bursting at the seams. And no matter how hard she tried, Audrey could not keep the family.

And then…

She wanted a second child, but failed pregnancies followed one after another. In the end, Mel still could not stand her success, and they parted. Ahead of Audrey was an unsuccessful marriage with a young psychotherapist Andrea Dotti and a safe haven with Robert Walders - a man who truly loved her. But these are completely different stories.

And yet at the end of this sad story I want to say what happens love at first sight and for life, such as that of Mstislav Rostropovich and Galina Vishnevskaya.