“He wanted me to quit my acting career, I did. He wanted to change my hair, the way I dressed, the way I walked, the way I wrote. And I so wanted to make him happy.”
She tried to become the woman he imagined, but the harder she tried, the more she lost sight of herself.
Over time, she realized no amount of change could fill the void between them.
“If you go against your deepest feelings… you’re screwed,” she admitted.
Their marriage lasted only three years, ending in 1968. At the time of their divorce, the 30-year-old beauty claimed that her husband had treated her in “a cruel and inhuman manner.”
She claimed that Grant had pushed her to the brink of a nervous breakdown and persuaded her to take LSD, which she said she used only twice. In addition, she alleged that he struck her, and laughed while doing it.
Court documents also revealed that in 1967, Grant’s annual income was around $500,000, with a personal fortune exceeding $10 million.
Walking away and starting over
But leaving her marriage wasn’t easy.
“I couldn’t breathe in that atmosphere anymore,” she confessed.
Despite the heartbreak, her love for him remained pure. “I didn’t really want anything from him. I just loved him. There was no agenda there.”
“There are some happy memories with Cary. I’m grateful for the experience. It’s brought me to be the woman I am today.”
The end of their relationship marked the beginning of a long journey back to herself — a journey defined by resilience, reflection, and faith.
A mother’s greatest gift
From their marriage came her greatest joy: their daughter, Jennifer, born in 1966 — Cary Grant’s only child. Even after their divorce, this bond kept them connected in mutual devotion.
After Grant’s death in 1986, she was offered “millions” to write a tell-all memoir about their marriage. “Swifty Lazar called me a week after Cary died,” she recalled, but she turned it down.
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