Debbie Reynolds’ Reaction to Ex-Husband’s Affair with Elizabeth Taylor
Billie Lourd is opening up about her late grandmother Debbie Reynolds‘ perspective on one of Hollywood’s most notorious affairs — the infidelity of her then-husband, Eddie Fisher, with Elizabeth Taylor.
In a recent interview with London’s The Times, published on Saturday, September 19, Lourd, 34, revealed that Reynolds was quite candid about the incident.
“That was one of my grandma’s favorite bedtime tales,” Billie shared. “She would say, ‘You know, dear, we used to have a lovely house in Palm Springs. But then, there was the divorce from Eddie…’”
Reynolds and Fisher, who were married from 1955 to 1959, were once considered a golden couple in Hollywood and had two children: daughter Carrie Fisher (Lourd’s late mother) and son Todd Fisher.
At the time, Reynolds and Eddie were friends with another famous couple, actress Taylor and her husband, producer Mike Todd.
After Todd’s tragic death in a plane crash in March 1958, Eddie began an affair with Taylor, leading to one of the biggest scandals in Hollywood and the downfall of his marriage to Reynolds.
When the affair was brought up by gossip columnist Hedda Hopper, Taylor notably defended her actions by quipping, “What do you expect me to do, sleep alone?”
Reflecting on her marriage and the public affair, Reynolds spoke in an interview with Entertainment Tonight in 1988.
“At that time in our marriage, we were very happy. We had a wonderful son and daughter,” the Singin’ in the Rain star expressed. “But, clearly, I was mistaken about that, you know? That was just my perspective. I was happy and in love, but obviously he was not.”
Reynolds added, “[Eddie] is like a good racehorse: he starts off strong, but then loses the race.”
She also recounted how many in her social circle seemed to be aware of the affair before she did.
“We were all very close friends, so I thought there was nothing odd about that. To me, it seemed fine. Then, at a dinner party, everyone was whispering, like, ‘Does she know…’ I wanted to find out what they were whispering about, but no one would tell me. I figured it must be about me. Eventually, I pieced it together as I heard certain names like ‘Eddie’ and ‘Elizabeth.’”
Reynolds and Fisher finalized their divorce on May 12, 1959, in the wake of the scandal. Eddie and Taylor married just hours after Reynolds and Fisher’s divorce was complete, but that marriage also ended in divorce in March 1964.
In her conversation with The Times, Lourd also expressed her deep appreciation for her late grandmother and her mother, both of whom passed away one day apart in 2016 at ages 84 and 60, respectively.
“They were truly two of the most talented women ever, and I feel incredibly fortunate to have lived under their brilliant legacies,” she said. “For a time, I tried to distance myself from that, but now I boldly proclaim — ‘I’m Carrie Fisher’s daughter and Debbie Reynolds’s granddaughter,’ and I feel so lucky to say it.”
