Debbie Reynolds once said she “ married very poorly.” The late star was married three times in her life, and each one came with their fair share of struggle. On the surface, Reynolds' marriage seemed completely ideal and idyllic, especially when she gave birth to her daughter Carrie, followed by her son Todd.

Rubin, Joel (December 28, 2016). "Debbie Reynolds rushed to the hospital after falling ill; condition unknown". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles . Retrieved December 28, 2016.They never found her attractive in school. She was cute, but sort of tomboyish, and her family never had any money to speak of. She never dressed well or drove a car. And, I think, during all the years in school, she was invited to only one dance. [13]

Richard Hamlett was Reynolds’ third and final husband. They wed in 1984, and she divorced the real estate developer in 1996 after an affair and bankruptcy. He proposed to the then twice divorcee and mother of two, during their first date. Convinced Debbie was this sweet gal next door, Hamlett –a real estate developer –asked the question. a b "Debbie Reynolds on How Elizabeth Taylor Stole Her Husband". ABC News. January 21, 2015 . Retrieved December 29, 2016. In 2011, Reynolds stepped down after 56 years of involvement in The Thalians, [79] a charitable organization devoted to children and adults with mental-health issues.

Her first marriage to singer Eddie Fisher (Carrie Fisher’s father) ended in scandal when he left Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor. Her second husband was a “gamble-holic” who spent millions of her money, and the third, well, was a man she called “the devil” whom she once thought was going to kill her. Debbie Reynolds and husband Richard Hamlett circa 1991 | Ron Galella, Ltd./Contributor/Getty Images Debbie Reynolds and Richard Hamlett were married from 1984 to 1996 Warner Bros also wasn't sold on her name—Mary Frances Reynolds. In fact, they wanted to change her name entirely. EXCLUSIVE: Debbie Reynolds' third husband pays glowing tribute to a 'wonderful woman' - even though she called him the devil, accused him of running off with a mistress and last spoke to him in bankruptcy court In 2011, Reynolds was on The Oprah Winfrey Show just weeks before Elizabeth Taylor's death. She explained that Taylor and she happened to be traveling at the same time on the ocean liner ( RMS Queen Elizabeth) some time in the 1960s when they reconciled. [75] Reynolds sent a note to Taylor's room, and Taylor sent a note in reply asking to have dinner with Reynolds and end their feud. As Reynolds described it, "we had a wonderful evening with a lot of laughs." [76] In 1972, she noted the bright side of the divorce and her remarriage:

At the height of her husband's gambling addiction, Reynolds remembers sheriffs taking possession of her home. But it was so much worse than she realized. Carrie is my child, and I love her with every ounce of strength I possess. If love alone could cure our children, they would always be well. Since I can’t, I will do whatever I can to make her life less difficult,” Reynolds writes. “I’m so grateful to Carrie for working so hard to stay well when sometimes it might be easier to give up.” It was only after she had evidence of Eddie Fisher's presence in Elizabeth Taylor's room that Debbie Reynolds finally agreed to a divorce. But the ensuing public scandal produced a chilling ripple effect. Christmas with Donald and Debbie: Featuring Chrissy the Christmas Mouse. OCLC. OCLC 839430840 . Retrieved October 21, 2022– via WorldCat. Reynolds appears with her daughter in Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, a 2016 documentary about the very close relationship between the two. [37] It premiered at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. The television premiere was January 7, 2017, on HBO. [7] According to USA Today, the film is "an intimate portrait of Hollywood royalty ... [it] loosely chronicles their lives through interviews, photos, footage, and vintage home movies... It culminates in a moving scene, just as Reynolds is preparing to receive the 2015 Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, which Fisher presented to her mom." [38] Music career and cabaret [ edit ]

42. She Was Terrified Of Him

While her divorce from her first husband was an “ insane tabloid feeding frenzy,” her marriage to Hamlett was even worse. In her 2013 memoir Unsinkable, the Unsinkable Molly Brown alum didn’t mince words in her description of her ex. It was already weird that Hamlett had ditched his wife during the grand opening of their hotel, but it was about to get even weirder. I say this in all sincerity. Debbie can serve as an inspiration to all young American womanhood. She came up the hard way, and she has a realistic sense of values based on faith, love, work, and money. Life has been kind to her because she has been kind to life. She's a young woman with a conscience, which is something rare in Hollywood actresses. She also has a refreshing sense of honesty. [13] Career [ edit ] Film and television [ edit ] Sure, Eddie Fisher humiliated her, his worst infraction being “ignoring our children.” And millionaire Harry Karl “wiped us out financially” and was an “unfortunate man.”

Escape to the country… for less! These are the areas where an idyllic rural retreat is cheaper than a house in town Carrie Fisher reflects on mother Debbie Reynolds' legacy in HBO doc Bright Lights". Entertainment Weekly. May 23, 2016 . Retrieved June 11, 2016. a b Flory, Josh (September 9, 2010). "With No Buyer, Debbie Reynolds' Hollywood Memorabilia To Go To Auction". Knoxville News Sentinel. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. The Singin’ in the Rain alum avoided the perceived threat by surrounding herself in luggage on the shelf of her closet until he left the room. Following this incident, Reynolds unsurprisingly decided to divorce. She arranged to meet with Hamlett at a café to discuss their settlement, and then he revealed what she suspected. The worst part came soon afterward, while the couple was in Reynolds’ condo on the 12th floor of the Regency Towers complex in Las Vegas. Hamlett, she wrote, tried to draw her over onto the condo’s tiny balcony for a talk. “Why did he seem so intent on getting me out to the balcony, which is only about three feet wide — not enough room to have a friendly conversation? Was he thinking about my million-dollar life insurance policy? … I could practically see the dollar signs floating above his head. I was sure he was going to toss me off the balcony. One shove and all his troubles would be over.”No matter how hard she tried to hold her marriage together, it was falling apart. She had no idea that her distant husband was about to deal her the most brutal betrayal. Penketh; (fn. 32) in 1628 Thomas Ashton, Thomas Ireland, and Robert Ryve were assessed to the subsidy. (fn. 33) Not only was Debbie Reynolds making more money than she ever dreamed of, but she was also about to catapult to fame with her performance in Singin' In the Rain. However, there was one big problem. On December 23, 2016, Reynolds's daughter, actress and writer Carrie Fisher, suffered a medical emergency on a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles, and died on December 27, 2016, at the age of 60 at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. [81] The following day, December 28, Reynolds was taken by ambulance to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, after suffering a "severe stroke", according to her son. [82] Later that afternoon, Reynolds was pronounced dead in the hospital; she was 84 years old. [83] [84] [85] On January 9, 2017, her cause of death was determined to be an intracerebral hemorrhage, with hypertension a contributing factor. [86] Other priests of the same family included William Penketh, then of Crossbrook, Orrell, convicted of recusancy in