Burt Reynolds Was Hurt by “Love of His Life” Sally Field’s Remarks After Break up | “Wish I Could Turn Back the Clock”

Burt Reynolds and Sally Field shared a unique bond on the sets of the movie, Smokey and the Bandit. Reynolds revealed how sharing the screen with Field for only four films, including Smokey and the Bandit, The End, Hooper, and Smokey and the Bandit II, proved to be great opportunities for them to learn about each other. In his autobiography, But Enough About Me, the late actor shared about the long lost love and that she, despite her lack of interest in the original Smokey, harbored animosity towards him for a long time because it was a huge commercial success.

Reynolds went on to explain how he came to love the Mrs. Doubtfire star, Fields. "She was dancing and talking about how she had always wanted to be in a play when they were in a car. She put her feet up on the windscreen," the actor wrote in his book. He also continued talking about humorous topics and spilling personal information about Field and her childhood in it as he revealed his love for the actor whom he dated for five years down the line but couldn’t stay longer with.

Reynolds also disclosed in his book that the two made multiple marriage proposals to one another. Yet if one requested, the other need extra time to prepare, and the opposite was also true. He said it was more a matter of bad timing. The legendary actor added that both he and Field had doubts about their ability to maintain a marriage if they had to work in various places, particularly on different continents, and if they could comprehend each other's accomplishments.

The Best Friends actor shared that the pair maintained their separate houses while they were dating and did not cohabitate. The two broke up later and the actor recalled he tried to meet her again. He asked her over tea after they split, but she declined.

Reynolds confessed, “I still wanted to see her, but my pride stepped in, and I gave up.” The two would then often give statements about each other during interviews which also sparked major rifts between them resulting in no conversation at all for almost three decades. Since their split, the two moved on in their lives. However, Reynolds shared how he wished to be in touch with her. According to CBS News, in an interview with TODAY by Hoda Kotb the veteran Hollywood star declared Sally Field as the “love of his life.”

In a 1987 interview with Playboy Magazine, when asked to comment about a rumor surrounding Reynold, Field refused to defend him while further remarking that "There's always been something going on around Burt."

The actor revealed that he was shocked by the statements uttered by Field which she later clarified in a handwritten letter that she sent him. Yet the damage was partly done and the two never spoke. Reynolds said, "We haven't been in touch since. I wish I could turn back the clock. I'm sorry I never told her that I loved her, and I'm sorry we couldn't make it work. It's the biggest regret of my life."

Reference:

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/burt-reynolds-says-he-fell-in-love-with-sally-field-when-she-was-7/

https://www.google.com.ua/books/edition/But_Enough_About_Me/ZwaQCgAAQBAJ?

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | (L) Photo by Michael Tullberg ; (R) Phillip Faraone