EXCLUSIVE: Behind Closed Doors of Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn's Lifelong 'Love Affair' – After Pair Spent Decades Denying They Were an Item
Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn are said to have had a secret love affair off screen.
Feb. 24 2025, Published 7:30 a.m. ET
Their Roman Holiday turned into an endless summer of friendship for Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Rumors were hot and heavy around Hollywood that the onscreen love affair had become a real-life romance, but both denied the tales.
Peck called filming 'Roman Holiday' with Hepburn the happiest experience of his career.
"Actually, you have to be a little bit in love with your leading man and vice versa," said Hepburn, when she was then 23. "If you're going to portray love, you have to feel it. But you don't carry it beyond the set."
Peck, who made shooting the 1953 rom-com film more of a family affair by bringing his wife Greta and their three sons to Rome, said that he wasn't the only one to fall head over heels for the up-and-coming actress.
"Everyone on the set of Roman Holiday was in love with Audrey," Peck explained. "We did that one picture together, and I think it was the happiest experience I ever had on a movie set."
The star admitted he was "protective" of the young actress, who was making her movie debut.
"Audrey was so new," Peck said. "We all had the feeling that we were doing something that everyone would enjoy."
Stephen Peck revealed his father cherished Hepburn's lifelong friendship and their shared Hollywood bond.
He also said watching Hepburn on set "was like watching a flower come to bloom."
Peck even demanded Paramount Studios give Hepburn equal billing – and his hunch about the starlet was right: Hepburn won a Best Actress Oscar in her film debut.
After filming ended, the stars stayed close.
Peck's son Stephen Peck said: "Having close friends that had a similar lifestyle meant a lot to him. Hepburn remained a friend throughout his life.”
Hepburn also always cherished Gregory's help in Hollywood.
Peck honored Hepburn at her memorial, reading 'Unending Love' in a heartfelt tribute.
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"Not only did Greg agree to have me as his leading lady, he guided me for months with kindness and patience and humor through one of the loveliest experiences of my life," Hepburn said.
She even participated in four tributes for her costar.
In one thank-you note, Peck wrote: "Your appearance, as always, is a high point. I'm always touched by your lovely grace and your generosity on Stephen, Carey, and bottom of spirit."
When Hepburn died from cancer at age 63 in 1993, Peck attended her memorial and read one of her favorite poems, Unending Love by Rabindranath Tagore, saying: "I seem to have loved you in numberless forms, numberless times. In life after life, in age after age, forever."
