EXCLUSIVE: 'I Knew Loni Was Going to Cry and She Did' — Burt Reynolds in His Own Words About the Moment He Told Ex-Wife Anderson Their 11-year Romance Was Over
Loni Anderson and Burt Reynolds were together for more than a decade.
Aug. 4 2025, Published 2:45 p.m. ET
Loni Anderson and Burt Reynolds had one of Hollywood's most glamorous marriages – and most bitter divorces – before the stars' death Sunday at age 79.
Now RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal what the Smokey and the Bandit star told his then-wife the moment their marriage was over.
Insiders said Anderson never told her son Reynolds was 'a deadbeat dad.'
Anderson and Reynolds first entered into a relationship after they starred alongside each other in the 1983 action comedy Stroker Ace.
After years of dating, the superstars finally married in 1998, but their union lasted just five years before the two broke up in vicious public fashion, with Reynolds claiming that Anderson was unfaithful and a bad mother, while she claimed that the Deliverance actor had abused her.
However, after first announcing their separation in 1993, Reynolds exclusively promised a different outcome, calling the divorce the toughest decision he'd ever had to make.
"There's no easy way to tell someone that it's over, especially if she's someone you still love," Reynolds said at the time. "I knew she was going to cry. And she did. There were tears in my eyes, too."
A Star is Reborn
Sources said Anderson never went after the $400,000 Reynolds owed her in back child support.
Reynolds blamed his sudden resurgence as a Hollywood heartthrob for the start of the breakup, explaining that he had plenty of time to woo and romance Anderson in the early 1980s, when his career was "in the pits."
"We were inseparable," he said of their early time together. "We went on romantic vacations, we were always going out to candlelight dinners - and even when I had to travel on business, Loni came with me."
But that all changed after Reynolds landed the starring role on the television series Evening Shade, which suddenly supplanted his marriage as the most important thing in his life.
"In Hollywood, you're given only so many chances," he continued. "I had the extraordinary luck of getting two. I had to grab for the brass ring.
"When Shade came along, I wasn't about to pass it up. I needed to get my dignity back and have some money for my family.
"You might say I became a workaholic. I never had a regular night out with the boys, I didn't play poker, and I worked too hard to be having an extramarital affair. That all took its toll on our marriage."
An Empty Shell
The couple split in 1993.
Reynolds confessed that as he became more involved with his new show, and less of a full-time husband, tensions began to grow.
"It was difficult for Loni not to have me at home," the actor shared. "She grew more and more unhappy. She began to resent my not being there for her, and I began to resent her demands on my time.
"The truth is our marriage had been an empty shell for the past year, but we kept it a total secret. Remember, Loni and I are both pretty good actors. Not even our closest friends knew about our personal troubles."
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Loni's Passing
Reynolds and Anderson went through a messy divorce.
Anderson died just days before her 80th birthday on Sunday, August 3. The WKRP in Cincinnati star passed away at a Los Angeles hospital following a "prolonged" illness, according to her longtime publicist Cheryl J. Lagan.
"We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother, and grandmother," Anderson’s family said in a statement.
The ‘80s actress is survived by her husband, Bob Flick, daughter Deidra and son-in-law Charlie Hoffman, son Quinton Anderson Reynolds, grandchildren McKenzie and Megan Hoffman, stepson Adam Flick, and step-grandchildren Felix and Maximilian.
