Inside Burt Reynolds' past Romances: The Love of His Life and the Marriage He Admitted Was 'A Really Dumb Move' – Photos & Details

Long after the cameras stopped rolling, the late actor was still reckoning with the women who had shaped him. His own confessions reveal which goodbyes haunted him, which wounds never healed, and why some chapters remained painfully unfinished.

Burt Reynolds spent decades playing confident, quick-witted leading men, but his private relationships were rarely as effortless as they appeared. Behind the movie-star smiles were painful breakups, serious accusations, public feuds, and one woman he continued calling the love of his life long after they stopped speaking.

The photos below capture Reynolds beside five women who shaped different chapters of his life. Keep scrolling to discover which romance he regretted ending, why one marriage became tabloid warfare, and which split left him unable to function for weeks.

From Football Hopeful to Hollywood Heartthrob

Before Reynolds became one of Hollywood's most recognizable leading men, he seemed destined for a career on the football field. According to his IMDb biography, Burton Leon Reynolds was born in Lansing, Michigan, in 1936. His family later settled in Riviera Beach, Florida, where his father became chief of police.

Reynolds excelled as an athlete and played football at Florida State University. However, a knee injury and a car accident ended his hopes of playing professionally.

He eventually moved to New York and pursued acting while working in restaurants and clubs. After appearing in a production of "Mister Roberts," he secured a television contract and landed roles in series including "Riverboat," "Gunsmoke," and "Hawk."

His defining movie breakthrough came with "Deliverance" in 1972. Roles in "White Lightning," "The Longest Yard," "Gator," and "Smokey and the Bandit" helped turn him into a symbol of 1970s Hollywood masculinity.

Reynolds later experienced career setbacks, but his acclaimed performance in "Boogie Nights" brought him a new wave of recognition and an Academy Award nomination. He died of cardiac arrest in Jupiter, Florida, on September 6, 2018, at 82. His movies made him a star. Yet the relationships behind the scenes told a far more complicated story.

Sally Field: The Woman He Called the Love of His Life

Reynolds met Sally Field while preparing to make the 1977 comedy "Smokey and the Bandit." According to our previous account of their relationship, Reynolds strongly pushed for Field to be cast after filmmakers reportedly questioned whether she was sexy enough for the role. He later said he wanted her "really bad" and came to her defense.

The chemistry audiences saw between Bandit and Carrie was not entirely manufactured. Reynolds acknowledged that viewers had effectively watched two actors fall in love on-screen.

Their collaboration continued in "The End" and "Hooper," both released in 1978. Away from the cameras, their relationship lasted for roughly five years.

Field later said Reynolds made her feel attractive and desirable. She recalled wanting to look good for him, but her memories of the relationship also revealed a much heavier emotional cost.

Although Reynolds often described the romance sentimentally, Field offered a different and more complicated version.

The actress said that during her years with Reynolds, she stopped "existing." She later described him as "confusing, complicated and hurtful," while acknowledging that their bond also included affection and care.

In her memoir, "In Pieces," Field called them a "match of flaws." She wrote that she had fallen into a familiar emotional pattern and surrendered too much of herself in the process.

Field explained that Reynolds' success had already affected him when they met. She believed his controlling tendencies eventually extended into their relationship.

She also said she felt humiliated when reports of alleged infidelity began circulating. Field remembered receiving calls from relatives and feeling like a "fool" amid the claims.

Reynolds and Field separated after an on-and-off relationship. He later expressed regret over the breakup and said the feeling of loss never completely disappeared. In 2015, more than three decades after their romance ended, he publicly declared Field "the love of my life."

Reynolds blamed himself for losing her. He also said Field never called after their breakup, although he claimed one of her sons told him she still spoke about him.

Field did not renew contact. She said Reynolds seemed to reach out to her through interviews and the press, something she believed he had also done while they were together. The former couple reportedly did not speak for the final 30 years of Reynolds' life. Field nonetheless acknowledged that he remained an important part of her personal history.

Still, the actress did not fully address Reynolds' description of her as the love of his life until after his death. She said she had always felt flattered when he spoke lovingly about her.

When Reynolds died, Field said he would always remain in her history and in her heart. She added that she would never forget the years they shared.

Loni Anderson: The Marriage Reynolds Called 'A Really Dumb Move'

After his relationship with Field, Reynolds became involved with "WKRP in Cincinnati" Actress Loni Anderson. The pair married in 1988 and adopted a son, Quinton.

Anderson and Reynolds' glamorous image as a duo made them one of the most photographed celebrity couples of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Behind that polished public presentation, however, the relationship was deteriorating.

In a 2015 interview with People, Reynolds gave a startling assessment of his decision to marry Anderson. "I should have known that you don't marry an actress," he said. "That was a really dumb move on my part."

The late actor made the comments while promoting his memoir, "But Enough About Me." In the book, he portrayed Anderson as an extravagant spender.

Reynolds claimed Anderson bought clothing, jewelry, china, and linens in triplicate. He recalled her saying she would not wear a dress again once it had been photographed because she needed to "dress like a star."

He also alleged that he gave her a platinum American Express card with a $45,000 limit and that she maxed it out within half an hour.

Those were Reynolds' claims and reflected his account of the marriage. Anderson's public version of their life together would prove sharply different.

Their 1993 split became such a dominant celebrity story that Reynolds claimed even Princess Diana noticed. He wrote that Diana sent him a thank-you note for "keeping her off the cover of PEOPLE magazine."

Reynolds said the relationship was not "lollipops and roses." Asked how Anderson might react to his memoir, he replied, "She'll be surprised it isn't more of a hammer."

Anderson later made disturbing allegations about the marriage. In a 1995 SFGate report, she alleged that Reynolds had physically abused her. The claims were Anderson's account, and Reynolds disputed accusations made against him.

"The physical abuse I always blamed on the drugs," Anderson said. She alleged that beatings left bruises across her body but not her face, and claimed she covered the marks or invented explanations, including telling a makeup artist she had fallen down the stairs and "thank God Burt had caught me."

Dinah Shore: The Goodbye That Left Reynolds 'Barely Functioning'

Before Field and Anderson, Reynolds had a significant relationship with Singer and Television Personality Dinah Shore.

Shore was born in 1916, according to her IMDb profile, while Reynolds was born in 1936. Their birthdays placed approximately 20 years between them. The age difference attracted attention, but Reynolds consistently spoke about Shore with deep respect.

Reynolds dated Shore during the 1970s but eventually concluded that he wanted children. In a 2015 People interview, he explained that the desire for a family contributed to his decision to leave. Even decades later, he struggled to find anything negative to say about her.

"There's nobody better," Reynolds said. "I never, ever heard her say anything bad about anybody. Ever. I don't know how she did it."

Reynolds' memoir revealed how painful the breakup had been for him. In an excerpt from "But Enough About Me," he described leaving Shore as "the hardest thing I'd ever done."

He recalled Shore sitting on a couch and holding a handkerchief while maintaining her composure. Reynolds said he was the one who lost control of his emotions. "I missed her the minute I walked out the door. I could barely function for weeks," he wrote.

His regret did not fade with time either. Reflecting on both Shore and Field, Reynolds admitted, "I moved on from them much too soon, and they probably moved on a little too late."

Shore died in 1994. Reynolds continued speaking of her with warmth and regret for the remainder of his life.

Pam Seals: A 16-Year Relationship That Ended in Competing Lawsuits

Pam Seals was a former Tampa Bay Rowdies cheerleader and cocktail waitress who became Reynolds' partner during the breakdown of his marriage to Anderson.

According to a detailed LegalClarity account, Seals and Reynolds first met in 1988, shortly before his marriage to Anderson. They stayed in contact as friends. Seals also appeared on the set of his television series "B.L. Stryker" in 1989.

Their relationship reportedly became romantic in 1991 after they reconnected in Flat Rock, North Carolina. Seals later recalled their first kiss as "a sweet, soft kiss." In 1993, Reynolds publicly confirmed that they had been involved for approximately two years.

When the affair became public, Reynolds said his marriage to Anderson had already been an "empty shell" for two and a half years.

He and Seals reportedly participated in a National Enquirer story about the relationship. Reynolds alleged that Seals received $150,000 for the article and gave him the money, which he claimed was largely donated to children's charities.

During an appearance on "Good Morning America," Reynolds said of Seals, "I am in like with her, and I think I love her."

Despite the disclosure, Reynolds initially downplayed the seriousness of the relationship. He said they were not engaged, were not planning to marry, were not "going steady," and were not living together. In time, however, they shared a home for approximately 12 years.

Reynolds' divorce from Anderson reportedly cost him millions of dollars. By December 1994, he had allegedly spent more than $2 million on the proceedings, while monthly divorce-related expenses reached approximately $47,000.

He declared bankruptcy in 1995. Seals remained his primary partner through much of that financial upheaval, although the pair never married.

Reynolds did not fully resolve his financial obligations to Anderson until 2015, when he reportedly made a final payment of $154,520. By then, his own relationship with Seals had already ended in another legal confrontation.

Reynolds and Seals separated in 2004. His attorney said the breakup began amicably and that Reynolds bought Seals a $500,000 condominium in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The property was placed in her name.

Reynolds' side later alleged that Seals demanded additional money and threatened to publicize accusations of abuse and prescription drug addiction.

On November 8, 2004, Reynolds filed a lawsuit accusing Seals of trying to extort millions of dollars through false allegations. His complaint alleged that she had fabricated claims that he yelled at her and stomped on her toes.

Reynolds sought damages and attempted to prevent Seals from pursuing a case in California. The following day, Seals filed her own lawsuit in Los Angeles. Seals pursued a palimony claim because California recognizes certain financial claims between unmarried partners, while Florida generally does not.

She alleged that Reynolds had asked her to leave her job, move with him, and act as his companion and homemaker. She claimed he had promised lifelong financial support for both her and her mother. Seals sought a share of the assets accumulated during their relationship, including Reynolds' Jupiter home, then valued at nearly $2.5 million.

She also sought roughly $50,000 for credit-card debt she said she had incurred for Reynolds. Her lawsuit alleged that she had acted as a homemaker, social and business partner, and caretaker for his child. She additionally accused Reynolds of physical and verbal abuse between 1998 and 2000.

Court filings attributed to Seals alleged that Reynolds yelled at, beat, and strangled her. Reynolds categorically denied those allegations and characterized them as leverage in a financial demand.

The condominium remained another source of disagreement. Seals' attorney claimed Reynolds had paid only the down payment before ceasing mortgage payments, leaving her unable to maintain the property. Reynolds' representatives argued that Florida law gave her no right to further support because they had never married.

In June 2005, both sides reached a settlement covering the Florida and California cases. Neither Reynolds nor Seals admitted the allegations made against them. The financial terms remained private, bringing their approximately 16-year relationship to a legally negotiated conclusion rather than a sentimental one.

Judy Carne: Reynolds' First Marriage

Long before Field, Anderson, Shore, or Seals, Reynolds married British Actress Judy Carne. The Washington Post noted that their marriage ended in divorce during the mid-1960s. Carne later became widely recognized as the "sock-it-to-me" girl on "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In."

Their relationship belonged to a different phase of Reynolds' life, before "Deliverance," "The Longest Yard," and "Smokey and the Bandit" made him a major movie star.

A Love Life Filled with Contradictions

Burt Reynolds could be tender, cutting, regretful, and brutally candid when revisiting his past relationships. He remembered Shore as nearly incapable of cruelty, while he continued presenting Field as the woman he should have held onto, even though Field recalled losing herself while they were together.

His marriage to Anderson produced their beloved son, Quinton, but also led to devastating accusations, financial turmoil, and Reynolds' declaration that marrying her had been "a really dumb move."

His long relationship with Seals survived bankruptcy and professional setbacks before ending in competing lawsuits, and his first marriage to Carne belonged to a younger version of Reynolds, before fame magnified nearly every private decision.

The actor spent much of his career playing men who always had the perfect response. In his real love life, however, Reynolds' most revealing words were often about what he wished he had done differently.