What did Burt Reynolds say about Loni Anderson? Late actor referred to Sally field as love of his life before slamming ex-wife and WKRP star

Loni Anderson, who was previously married to actor Burt Reynolds, who had accused her of cheating on him during the course of their marriage, has passed away.

According to The Guardian, the veteran actress has been suffering from an unspecified illness for a long time and had been admitted to a hospital in L.A for further treatment. A statement was released by her publicist, Cheryl J Kagan, on behalf of Loni Anderson's family. It read,

"We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother."

Loni Anderson rose to fame in the 1970s with her role as Jennifer Marlowe on the hit CBS sitcom, WKRP in Cincinnati. She was nominated twice for an Emmy Award for her role, but it was her private life, particularly her tumultuous marriage and eventual divorce from Burt Reynolds, that remained a tabloid staple.

In 1993, soon after their divorce proceedings were announced, Burt Reynolds, during an appearance on "Good Morning America: Evening Edition," explained why he decided to initiate the divorce, and said:

"I caught her cheating on me. And so I just … I made the decision to call it off."

More about Loni Anderson's relationship with Burt Reynolds, as the WKRP actress passes away

Loni Anderson and Burt Reynolds met in the early 1980s. The couple dated for a few years before marrying in 1988 in a private ceremony surrounded by their friends and family at a ranch in Jupiter, Florida.

According to People Magazine, speaking about his marriage, Burt Reynolds said at that time:

"I'm a very lucky man. I'm surrounded by love and dear friends, and I married my best friend today."

The couple was married for five years, during which they adopted a son, Quinton Reynolds. But in 1993, it was announced that they were going their separate ways. Since the separation, Burt Reynolds has frequently spoken about his marriage to Loni Anderson in a negative light over the years. During which the Three On a Date actress replied by saying:

"I do not intend to engage in a media war. have to consider the welfare and best interests of my little boy."

Two years later, in 1995, while the divorce proceedings were still ongoing, Loni Anderson accused Burt Reynolds of being physically violent with her during their marriage. She blamed it on his alleged drug use.

According to People Magazine, the divorce was eventually finalized, but even in the years since then, Burt Reynolds has continued to comment on Loni Anderson. In a 2015 interview with People Magazine, Burt Reynolds talked about how his marriage to Anderson was riddled with problems from the very beginning. He said:

"I should have known that you don't marry an actress. It wasn't lollipops and roses."

In the same year, Reynolds released his memoir, But Enough About Me, in which he spoke about his short romance with actress Sally Field and called her the "love of my life".

In a 2015 interview with Vanity Fair, the Gunsmoke actor, who had met Sally Field on the set of their movie, Smokey and the Bandit, reflected on how much he missed her even decades after their relationship ended. He said:

"I miss her terribly. 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."

Despite these claims made by Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, in an interview with Variety, refuted the idea that she was the love of his life, and said:

“He was not someone I could be around. He was just not good for me in any way. He had somehow invented in his rethinking of everything that I was more important to him than he had thought, but I wasn’t. He just wanted to have the thing he didn’t have. I just didn’t want to deal with that.”

Despite the continuous string of comments on their marriage and about herself, Loni Anderson never publicly addressed the remarks made by Burt Reynolds. She even paid him her respects after his death in 2018, saying:

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"He was a big part of my life for twelve years and Quinton's father for thirty years. We will miss him and his great laugh."

Loni Anderson, who was seventy-nine years old at the time of her death, passed away just two days before her eightieth birthday on Tuesday. She is survived by her two children from her previous marriages, her fourth husband, Bob Flick, his children from his previous marriages, and several grandchildren.

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