Paul Newman and Joanne Wooward had a ‘complicated’ marriage, daughter says: ‘There was a vibe of tension’
The married life of Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman was not always peaceful.
The couple first met when they were cast in the Broadway play “Picnic” in 1953. They said “I do” in 1958, and their union lasted until the actor died in 2008. In Newman’s lifetime, the pair made 16 films together. The couple’s partnership was legendary. However, their daughters Clea & Melissa insist that the Hollywood power couple had a complicated marriage.
“There is this fairy tale of my parents’ perfect marriage,” Melissa, 61, told Closer Weekly on Friday. She explained that it wasn’t all cake and ice cream at home.
View of married American actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, the former of whom photographs the latter, in their Greenwich Village apartment, New York, New York, circa 1961. Melissa, their daughter, revealed that the couple’s marriage wasn’t a fairytale.
(Photo by A Louis Goldman/Photo Researchers History/Getty Images)
“There was a vibe of tension in the house that would sort of come and go,” she said.
Still, Melissa noted that it was their “desire to fight for their relationship” that kept them together for 50 years “even in the worst of times. According to the outlet, the couple struggled with two high-profile careers. Newman also had a drinking problem and felt guilty for the death of Scott Newman. The actor died in 1978 at age 28 from a drug and alcohol overdose.
“My mother was always the rock, even though she said, “I’m drawing the lines.” Melissa said, “You either get your act together (or I’m out).” “I think dad respected her because she knew she wasn’t lying. “
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Paul Newman, who was posthumously published his memoir, spoke out about his sexy relationship with Joanne Woodward.
(Photo by Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Newman candidly described the steamy sex life that he shared with Woodward in his posthumous memoir, “Paul Newman: The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man,” which was recently published.
The memoir was based on interviews with Newman’s family, friends, colleagues and the actor himself, all of whom went on the record with the stipulation that they be “completely honest. “
In the book, the legendary screen actor, who is best known for his classic films “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “Cool Hand Luke”, and “The Sting”, discussed his status as an sex symbol. He said that Woodward was the only reason. In an excerpt obtained from People magazine, Newman stated that
“Joanne was the mother of a sexual creature. “We left a trail lust all over the country. Hertz Rent-A-Cars and hotels.
Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman played Clara Varner (and Ben Quick) in the film “The Long Hot Summer”. It was based on a novel by William Faulkner and directed by Martin Ritt, circa 1958. The couple remained together until Newman’s death in 2008.
(Getty Images)
The book delved into Newman’s early insecurities during his teenage years in Shaker Heights, Ohio, where he needed special permission to join the high-school football team due to his small size. Newman also spoke out about his early failures and lack of self-confidence.
” “I felt like a goddamn weirdo,” he stated. “Girls thought that I was a joke. A happy buffoon. “
However, the Academy Award winner said all of that changed after meeting Woodward in 1953, when they were both understudies in the original production of William Inge’s play “Picnic. Newman was still married to Jackie Witte at the time. They had three children, Scott, Susan, and Stephanie. Woodward was too attractive to him and they began a turbulent affair.
American actors Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward share an intimate moment in a scene from an episode of Playhouse 90 entitled ‘Eighty-Yard Run’ on Jan. 15, 1958. They were married several weeks later.
(Photo by CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
“I went from being not much of a sexual threat to something else entirely,” he recalled.
Newman and Witte divorced in 1958, and he wed Woodward that same year in Las Vegas. Newman shares a story from their early years together as a married couple in the memoir.
He recalls coming home to their Beverly Hills home to discover that Woodward had made a room off their master bedroom with a “thrift store double bed” which she “proudly” called the ” F— Hut”.
” It had been done with such affection, delight,” Newman said. “Even if my children came over, we’d go to the F— Hut many nights a week and just be intimate, noisy and ribald. “
Clea, their daughter, said that Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward had “fought really hard” to stay together.
(Photo by Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
The couple later moved to Westport, Connecticut, with their three daughters.
“Joanne, and I still drive each others crazy in different ways,” said he. “But all the misdemeanors and betrayals, as well as the difficulties, have kind of gotten over the years. “
Clea, the daughter of the couple, said that they fought and it was dramatic but they also worked hard to stay together. “
” They didn’t walk,” she stated. They worked hard, though it was sometimes close. They came together in the end. “
Fox News Digital’s Ashley Hume contributed to this report.
Stephanie Nolasco covers entertainment at Foxnews.com.
I have been writing professionally for over 20 years and have a deep understanding of the psychological and emotional elements that affect people. I’m an experienced ghostwriter and editor, as well as an award-winning author of five novels.
