Growing old with someone brings about a serenity of a different kind. But when you're on your own, the fear starts to build.
Jack Nicholson is a seasoned actor with a ton of accolades to his name. But one success that continues to elude him even as he grows older is that of finding true love. Now in his 80's, the Oscar-winning actor has his regrets about not having someone to grow old with.
He's had his fair share of relationships, but none of them could stand the test of time. Yet one thing no one could ever deny was his charm and charisma, someone the “the guy men want to be" according to Mirror.
Married first to actress Sandra Knight for about six years between 1962 and 1968, she had only compliments to give him.
"We had a very beautiful, sweet marriage," Sandra Knight told an American magazine, reported the Express. "I could see Jack was going to become a big star and have lots of temptations. I couldn't go along for the ride. He's different from the Jack Nicholson image. The real Jack is a loving, caring, giving person, a doting dad, and the sweetest father."
After his relationship with Sandra ended, Jack started dating actress Anjelica Huston. They spent 16 years of their life together but even this saw an end - one that set off the beginning of the toughest years of his life where he believes that he's dealing with the consequences of it now.
Anjelica, who had found success in movies like The Addams Family, described him as the "love of her life". Though their relationship was strife with pain, it did give them some great moments together. She called him "generous" and "someone I have adored in my life and continue to love forever."
But for Jack, the end of his relationship had a different impact. "I was annihilated emotionally. That was probably the toughest period of my life. I'm childish and I did make a mistake," Jack said. "I may have made a mistake but I don't want to go back and correct it. I'd rather deal with it."
According to Mail Online, Jack claimed that his "mathematician’s brain" might have had something to do with his relationships. "It [his brain] looks at everything mathematically, including relationships. It’s all statistics and laws of probability," he had said.
But his determination to "deal" with his issues rather than rewind the clock has him longing for companionship during his senior age. "I would love that one last romance but I'm not very realistic about it happening. What I can't deny is my yearning," he said, according to The Telegraph.
Now that he's been through so much heartbreak in his life, Jack understood how difficult relationships can be and that it takes more than just loving someone. "I don't think relationships are fixed things," he said. "People are necessarily complex and confused beings. We don't always do the right thing, say the right thing and behave the way we always want to behave."
He may have years of accolades to his name and movies to remember and be proud of, but is something missing? "I have had everything a man could ask for but no one could say I'm successful with affairs of the heart."
Additionally, a source revealed to the Telegraph, "He's afraid of dying alone in that house," express.co.uk reports. But there's one thing that just might be helping and that is the love he shares with his children and grandchildren. All that Jack has to say about that is, "They write an essay or a poem and your heart is in your throat. They share such stunning love."
References:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/jack-nicholson-80-sex-drugs-10183882
https://www.express.co.uk/celebrity-news/551696/Actor-Jack-Nicholson-love-failed-relationships