Let’s be real: Old Hollywood was more than just shiny red carpets, tinselly awards, and perfect teeth. Beyond the velvet drapes and blazing spotlights, the stars of Tinseltown had lives that were frequently messy, frenzied, and scandalously thrilling. Romance, mystery, and show-stopping affairs were all part of the spectacle as much as the movies themselves. From illegal trysts to scandalous marriages, here’s a top 10 countdown of Old Hollywood’s most scandalous couples.
10. Sophia Loren & Cary Grant
Sophia Loren and Cary Grant had an undeniable chemistry, but also an illicit one. They first met on the set of The Pride and the Passion in 1957, and sparks were flying even though Grant was wed to his third wife, Betsy Drake. Grant did not merely flirt on the set; he notoriously had Drake replaced by Loren in their subsequent film, Houseboat, even rewriting sections of the script to fit in the romance. But though the drama behind the scenes was rife, the romance did not last, and Loren went on to find enduring happiness with Carlo Ponti. A real Hollywood plot twist.
9. Marilyn Monroe & Joe DiMaggio
Few marriages of celebrities have been so tumultuous and so legendary as Marilyn Monroe’s and Joe DiMaggio’s. Wed in the 1950s, their high-society affair was both glamorous and turbulent. DiMaggio allegedly wrestled with Monroe’s bombshell image, and tensions escalated after her white-dress scene in The Seven Year Itch. Their union ended after just a month following that photoshoot, marked by jealousy and tumult. Even in their breakup, Monroe continued to intrigue the public with her glamorous existence, such as a birthday tribute to President John F. Kennedy.
8. Rita Hayworth & Orson Welles
Rita Hayworth and Orson Welles gave Hollywood a surprise when they wed just a day after announcing their marriage in 1943, while they were collaborating on The Mercury Wonder Show. Their sudden romance had all the aspects of a classic Hollywood story: secrecy, sudden headlines, and undeniable chemistry. Although their love romance did not work out for long, they divorced in 1947. Hayworth’s subsequent wedding to Prince Aly Khan could not eradicate the public interest in their short but fiery relationship.
7. Ingrid Bergman & Roberto Rossellini
Ingrid Bergman’s romance with director Roberto Rossellini on the Stromboli set was one of the most scandalous of the period. Both were married, and the romance incensed America, causing Bergman to take refuge in Europe. She bore Rossellini a son and continued to collaborate with him in Italy, surviving public denunciation as she established a new life overseas. In spite of the scandal, Bergman did return to Hollywood and made a dramatic career comeback, leaving behind a legacy that included her daughter, Isabella Rossellini.
6. Humphrey Bogart & Lauren Bacall
One of Hollywood’s greatest romances, the love between Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall commenced in 1944 on the set of To Have and Have Not. There was a 25-year difference in their ages; Bogart was 45, Bacall was 20. Their affair grew amidst scandal, since Bogart was still married to Mayo Methot. Theirs was labeled “the Battling Bogarts,” but their marriage ultimately turned out to be a tribute to dedication, respect, and admiration. Their relationship lasted until Bogart died in 1957, and their legacy stood as the epitome of Hollywood magic and romance.
5. Frank Sinatra & Ava Gardner
Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner’s romance was a tabloid sensation from day one. Their affair started while Sinatra was still wed to Nancy Barbato, paving the way for decades of steamy romance, public spectacle, and tabloid-baited brawls. Their union, though short, left both their lives forever changed, and in the case of Sinatra, his songs. Gardner moved on, but Sinatra wore the memory of their intense romance like a badge for years, converting heartache to song.
4. Clark Gable & Loretta Young
Decades can pass before some secrets emerge, and the tale of Clark Gable and Loretta Young is such a case. Young had been away filming Call of the Wild in 1935 when she returned from a tour of England with a baby girl, stating she had adopted her. The reality was, however, that the child, Judy Lewis, was Young’s daughter with Gable, with whom she was married. Even more startling, it wasn’t until 2015 that it was made public that Young had claimed the experience was not consensual, exposing a seedy underbelly of Hollywood’s heyday.
3. Charlie Chaplin & His Wives
Comedy icon Charlie Chaplin might have had people laughing on the big screen, but his life off-screen was marred by scandal. He wed four times, each to a woman significantly younger than him. His first two wives, both teenagers, Mildred Harris and Lita Grey, were pregnant shortly after their weddings. Chaplin’s third marriage dissolved in scandal, and his last marriage to Oona O’Neill, at 18 when Chaplin was 54, lasted until his death, showing that even amidst chaos, love could last.
2. Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton
Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton were more than a pair; they were a phenomenon. They met on the Cleopatra set in 1963, each still married to another person. Their rocky relationship consisted of two marriages, a very public divorce, and a short-lived reconciliation. The passion and drama of their romance, complete with two divorces, two marriages, and several dueling love affairs, solidified them as one of Hollywood’s greatest on-screen and off-screen legends.
1. Spencer Tracy & Katharine Hepburn
Number one on the list is Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, whose long-term affair was common knowledge in Hollywood circles. Tracy was married the entire time they were together, but his relationship with Hepburn, personal and professional, was undeniable. Their affair survived heartbreak, stigma from society, and the challenges of fame, and lasted up until Tracy’s death, and ended with a legacy of one of the most intriguing couples of film history.
Old Hollywood was glamorous on the surface, but behind the cameras, these affairs show that even the biggest stars had lives that were full of passion, scandal, and unforgettable drama.