Bette Davis' Loves and Losses: Late Hollywood Star Had 4 Marriages, 3 Divorces — and an Affair With Howard Hughes
Bette Davis admitted to a fling with Howard Hughes later in her life.
Oct. 6 2026, Published 7:08 p.m. ET
Bette Davis had four marriages, nearly as many divorces, and even had a brief affair with billionaire aviator Howard Hughes throughout her storied Hollywood career.
37 years after her death at 81 years old, RadarOnline.com revisits the late Hollywood star's loves and losses.
Inside Bette Davis' First Marriage
Bette Davis shot to fame in the 1930s.
Davis once said of her romantic entanglements, "Love is a big joke on all of us. I chose very foolishly."
She tied the knot with her first husband – who was also her boarding school sweetheart, Harmon Oscar Nelson Jr. – in 1932. Their marriage began around the time of her breakout role in The Man Who Played God.
However, once the actress shot to fame, Nelson "felt emasculated by her fame and success," according to Julia A. Stern, who wrote Bette Davis Black and White.
Amid Davis and Nelson's 1938 divorce, he accused her of having an affair with Hughes. She later admitted that it was true.
"You know, I was the only one who ever brought Howard Hughes to a sexual climax, or so he said at that time. It's true," she said in a past interview. "What is to say, it's true that he said it. Or let's say I believed it when he told me that. I was wildly naïve at the time. It may have been his regular seduction gambit. Anyway, it worked with me, and it was cheaper than buying gifts. But Howard Huge he was not. I liked s-x in a way that was considered unbecoming for a woman in my time. The way I felt was only considered appropriate for a man."
Controversy Around Bette Davis' 2nd Husband's Death
Bette Davis married Arthur Farnsworth in 1940.
Two years later, she said "I do" to Arthur Farnsworth. Tragically, their union was short-lived. He died in 1943 after fracturing his skull in what was believed to be an accidental fall.
"There was this horrible rumor that Bette had murdered him by pushing him down the stairs," Stern shared. "That is complete nonsense."
Bette Davis Welcomes Daughter With William Grant Sherry
Bette Davis divorced William Grant Sherry in 1950.
In 1945, Davis gave marriage another shot. She married artist William Grant Sherry. They welcomed a daughter, Barbara "BD" Davis Sherry, in 1947.
However, the couple wasn't meant to be. They divorced in 1950, and reports later alleged Sherry suffered from anger issues and an inability to handle the actress' stardom.
Bette Davis Marries 'All About Eve' Costar
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Bette Davis described her fourth husband as 'macho.'
Davis' final wedding was with her All About Eve costar Gary Merrill.
"Gary was a macho man, but none of my husbands was ever man enough to become Mr. Bette Davis," the late actress once teased of her fourth husband.
Aside from her marriages and fling with Hughes, she was also linked to Humphrey Bogart, Glenn Ford, and Henry Fonda.
