A look back at Burt Reynolds and Sally Field’s relationship
Amy Duncan
One of Burt Reynolds' most famous relationships was with Sally Field, his Smokey And The Bandit co-star. The couple dated for five years but ended when Burt 'screwed' the relationship...
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Metro
One of Burt Reynolds’ most famous relationships was with Sally Field, his Smokey And The Bandit co-star.

The couple dated for five years but ended when Burt ‘screwed’ the relationship up, he later admitted.

Despite being apart for almost 40 years, Sally Field was one of the first to pay tribute to Reynolds after the news of his death aged 82 broke on Thursday.

And she says Burt – who called Sally ‘the love of his life’ as recently as 2015 – never left her mind.

In a statement, Sally said: ‘There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away.

‘They stay alive, even forty years later. My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart, for as long as I live. Rest, Buddy.’

Aged 82, the actor died of a heart attack in a hospital in Florida on Thursday morning, surrounded by his family.

Burt and Sally co-starred in three films Smokey And The Bandit, Smokey And The Bandit II, The End and Hooper, the first being where they met in 1977.

In an interview with USA Today published in March this year, Burt recalls how he had to persuade Sally to say yes to Smokey And The Bandit, as she had originally said no.

He told the publication: ‘She first said no. And I called her and I said, “I know why you said no. You think it’s a silly movie with cars chasing each other and all that. But I don’t see it as that. I see it as a chance to work with the best young actress on the planet. If you want to, go ahead and say no”. And she went, “How the hell am I going to say no to that?”.’

Though they never married, Burt proposed to Sally – who had two children from her first marriage when they dated – on numerous occasions and longed to start a family with her.

In a 1979 article, joint with Sally, he had told PEOPLE: ‘I am planning to get married, but I don’t know when.

‘The kids – Peter, 9, and Eli, 6 – and I have a great relationship, but we haven’t had enough time together. Am I supposed to tell Sally to drop them off and screech away? They’re more important to Sally than I am, which is the way it should be.’

He added: ‘I want a kid so bad that I ache, and yet I have this incredible fear. But one day you turn around and say, “Oh, hell, I’ll just do it.”‘

Like Sally, Burt had also previously been married, to Judy Carne between 1963 until 1965.

He went on to marry Loni Anderson in 1988 and they adopted his son Quinton during their five-year marriage.

Sally was married to Steven Craig from 1968 to 1975 and then to Alan Greisman from 1984 to 1993.

However, Burt later admitted that Sally had always been ‘the love of his life’.

‘I miss her terribly,’ he told Vanity Fair in 2015.

‘Even now, it’s hard on me. I don’t know why I was so stupid. Men are like that, you know. You find the perfect person, and then you do everything you can to screw it up.’

And in a 2016 interview with Event magazine, Burt claimed the end of his relationship with Field is the biggest disappointment of his life when asked.

‘Sally Field. I did four movies with Sally and spent five years with her. She was the love of my life and I screwed the relationship up,’ he candidly revealed.

‘That sense of loss never goes away. I have no idea what Sally thinks about it. She could pick up the phone and speak to me but she never does.

‘I spoke to her son recently. He said that his mum talks about me all the time. Maybe she’ll phone me one day. I’d love to have that conversation.’

In March, Sally confirmed that they no longer spoke after their split in 1982 but credited the actor with being ‘the most important influence’ to come into her life during the Seventies.

One of the main factors for this was because Burt thought she was sexy, which had boosted Field’s confidence levels in the industry.

Sally had said in an interview: ‘I thought even if the film didn’t work, if he thinks I’m attractive in it, other people will think so, too.’

Burt himself has previously revealed how he pushed to get Field in Smokey, despite casting directors advising him against it as she lacked sex appeal.

He had told the Today show: ‘I wanted her really bad for Smokey. They said she’s not sexy. “You don’t get it it,” I said, “Talent is sexy. And she’s got that”.’

Sally was among a wave of acclaimed movie stars to pay tribute on Thursday.

Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mark Wahlberg all credited Burt with being a ‘friend’ and a great ‘inspiration’.

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