The short romance left the actress smitten and obssessing over the handsome actor. She couldn't believe that he fancied her.
Rarely is a celebrity an exception when it comes to gossips about infidelity and affairs. But, it's a shock when some of the established actors are found guilty of their actions. Carrie Fisher, who captured the world with her portrayal of Princess Leia in the famous Star Wars series, once revealed a secret she had been keeping for 40 years.
In her book The Princess Diarist, released in 2016, she confessed that she and her 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope co-star, Harrison Ford, had an intense relationship during the filming, reported the People. "It was so intense. It was Han and Leia during the week and Carrie and Harrison during the weekend." Ford, 33 at the time, was married to his first wife, Mary Marquardt, and was a father to their two children. Fisher decided it was time to come out with the long-kept secret when she stumbled upon her diary entries which she found while renovating her house.
The whirlwind and passionate affair lasted three months; at the time Fisher was only 19 years old. It all began when she attended director George Lucas's birthday along with the cast and crew members during their London shoot. She was “essentially the only girl” in a room full of whining and sloshed crew members, who would occasionally tease her saying, “here’s our little princess without her buns," reported The Verge. She never really liked the smell or taste of alcohol but she gave in to the pressure of her crewmates. Explaining the situation she wrote, "It makes me stupid, sick, and unconscious really fast, I’ve never actually been drunk—just senseless and inert.”
Her attempts to fit in with the crowd worked and in no time she was surrounded by a bunch of people coercing her out of the party “to wherever movie crews take young actresses when they want to establish that the actress belongs to them.” Right then, just like in a movie, Ford chimed in and took Fisher out, claiming she needed some air. What followed was the beginning of the affair. The two got into a car and started making out. "I was shocked by the fact that he fancied me. I was a very insecure girl and had only had one boyfriend," The Guardian reported her reminiscing.
Fisher admitted that the time spent with Ford made her doubt her self-worth and her confidence. She told People, "I looked over at Harrison. A hero’s face — a few strands of hair fell over his noble, slightly furrowed brow,” she writes. “How could you ask such a shining specimen of a man to be satisfied with the likes of me?”
Even though she was drowning in anxiety, self-loathing, and love for Ford, Fisher began dreaming of an impossible future with Ford where he would leave his wife for her, reported the Guardian.
In her American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award Ceremony tribute for Ford in 2000, Fisher said, "I was obsessed with Harrison long before it became fashionable; I was a trendsetter in that sense. I started a craze,” reported Vanity Fair. The actress wrote in her book, “I was so inexperienced, but I trusted something about him. He was kind." She admitted that she was amazed by her passion for Ford as she went through her journals. The Guardian reported her saying, “I wouldn’t want to live through that again, ever. It’s just so obsessive, and self-obsessed, and confused."
Their unlikely relationship came to an end after the shoot but she could never forget the memories of her and Ford together. Even though Ford had never been interested in more than a casual affair with Fisher, she recalled him once saying, “You think you’re less than you are. You’re a smart hick. You have the eyes of a doe and the balls of a samurai.”
Fisher had contacted Ford about her book, reported the Guardian, expecting a reply which never came. “I told him I was writing the book, and I would give it to him and if he didn’t like anything in it I would take it out, and he seemed surprised at that. Then I called him and said I’m going to send it to you, and I did and I never heard from him," said the actress.
The story of the dreamy romance between the real-life Princess Leia and Han Solo was surely a complete surprise for everyone and encouraged numerous statements from everyone in the industry but Ford chose to keep his silence for a long time. "It was strange. For me," is all he said while talking to GQ about the book. He avoided discussing any further details as Fisher had already passed away. He said, "Oh, I don’t know. I don’t know. You know, with Carrie’s untimely passing, I don’t really feel that it’s a subject that I want to discuss."
The world lost Carrie Fisher, its Princess Leia, to a sudden heart attack on December 27, 2016.
Reference:
https://people.com/movies/carrie-fisher-reveals-affair-with-harrison-ford-star-wars/
https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2016/11/carrie-fisher-reveals-intense-affair-with-harrison-ford
