Why Elizabeth Taylor divorced the same man twice
Elizabeth Taylor was an icon in her own right, known to this day for her larger-than-life personality and incredible career as an actress.
But her turbulent love life also attracted plenty of attention before and after the star’s ԁеаtһ in 2011.
One of the most shocking episodes in her romantic story has to be from 1976, when on August 1 she divorced her beloved Richard Burton – for the second time.
Taylor and Burton first met in 1962 on the set of Cleopatra, where Taylor played the titular Egyptian queen in one of her most iconic film roles.
At the time, 30-year-old Taylor was still married to Eddie Fisher, her fourth husband, their relationship having started as an affair.
But that didn’t stop Taylor from falling for Burton when they shared a passionate on-screen kiss, and soon after the pair began their own affair.
Years later, Elizabeth said, “When I saw him on the set of Cleopatra, I fell in love and I have loved him ever since.”
They did little to hide their entanglement, causing an all-out media scandal that followed them as they each divorced their respective partners – yes, Burton was married too – to be together.
In 1964 they wed, just 10 days after Taylor finalised her divorce from Fisher, and so began a decade of love, money, scandal and passion.
Being big-name stars who had fallen in love on screen, fans were obsessed with “Liz and Dick’s” romance and the media kept a close eye on the couple as their marriage progressed.
There were reports of the lavish gifts Burton gave his wife, such as a 69-carat Cartier diamond ring costing US$1.5 million, as well as their horrendous fights later in the marriage.
They continued to star in films together, both earning multi-million dollar paycheques they spent on cars, yachts and private jets, but even that much money can’t buy happiness.
By 1970 the cracks had begun to show and the pair separated, officially divorcing in 1974, a decade after they wed.
Taylor had been married and divorced four times before, and the media were expecting a sixth wedding and subsequent divorce after her marriage to Burton failed.