Liza Minnelli reflects on whirlwind love affairs, from Desi Arnaz Jr. to Martin Scorsese
Liza Minnelli takes an intimate, unfiltered look at her whirlwind love life in her upcoming memoir, “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!”
The book chronicles her rollercoaster romances with men from Desi Arnaz Jr. to Martin Scorsese, in addition to her “traumatizing” marriage to David Gest.
In 1972, Minnelli got engaged to Desi Arnaz Jr., the son of comedy couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. At the time, she was still legally married to his first husband, Australian singer-songwriter Peter Allen, though the two had agreed to a trial separation in 1970.
Minnelli writes in her memoir that she and Arnaz Jr. bonded over growing up in the public eye and having famous parents — her mother being Judy Garland and her father director Vincente Minnelli.
But by 1973, things got a bit chaotic. She fell for actor Peter Sellers and somehow ended up engaged to two men at the same time.
However, her romance with Sellers quickly fizzled, not long before Minnelli divorced Allen, who later told her he was gay.
American actress, singer and dancer, Liza Minnelli, and her fiancé, Australian songwriter and entertainer, Peter Allen, 26th November 1964. (Photo by Larry Ellis/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
In September 1974, just two months after the divorce was finalized, Minnelli married Jack Haley Jr., the son of actor Jack Haley, who played the Tin Man alongside her mother in “The Wizard Of Oz.”
But during their marriage, she had an affair with Scorsese, who directed Minnelli in the 1977 film “New York, New York.”
“Truth be told, our love affair had more layers than a lasagna. We were both Italian. Passionate. Intense. Committed to our craft. We both had volcanic tempers,” Minnelli writes of Scorsese, according to an excerpt of the memoir obtained by People. “He was a diabolically handsome man who shared my love for film. I was a director’s daughter.”
Ultimately, that romance was also short-lived. By the time “New York, New York” hit theaters, she and Scorsese had already gone their separate ways, and by April 1979, she was divorced from Haley Jr.
American actress Liza Minnelli and husband Jack Haley Jr arriving for the 41st Ziegfeld Club Charity Ball in New York, November 4th 1977. (Photo by UPI/Bettmann Archive/Getty Images)
In December of ’79, Minnelli tied the knot with sculptor and stage manager Mark Gero, a marriage that would last until 1992.
Then in 2001, Minnelli met actor and producer David Gest at a CBS concert special for their mutual friend Michael Jackson. They ended up getting married in 2002, but the relationship soon took a troubling turn, making headlines and causing concern among her friends.
“I clearly wasn’t sober when I married this clown,” Minnelli writes of her marriage to Gest.
“He didn’t just control everything I ate, from morning to night. He controlled the people I saw and spoke to on the phone,” she describes. “He screened my calls. In truth, I was his prisoner.”
In a 2003 lawsuit, Gest alleged that Minnelli drunkenly beat him throughout their marriage — accusations Minnelli denied, claiming Gest was merely after her money. The suit was ultimately dismissed for lack of evidence, roughly seven months before they divorced in 2007.
Liza Minnelli and husband David Gest pose for a photo at Denise Rich’s house in Southhampton in 2002. Gest was Minnelli’s fourth husband before their divorce in 2007. (Dennis Clark / New York Daily News)
Even after all the trials and tribulations, Minnelli, who’s about to turn 80, says she’s still open to love today.
“Ideally, I’d like to date an older elegant man who dresses beautifully and is filthy rich,” she playfully writes. “Then I’d like to date a 40-year-old guy who is passionate about something. I don’t care what. Then I’d like to date an 18-year-old, who I see twice a week and whose name I don’t know.”
“Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!” is set to be released on March 10 and is currently available for preorder.
