Their eyes met for the first time in their 40s, they married in 1951 and their relationship was as stormy as it was passionate. Between infidelities, and shots at midnight, Ava Gardner and Frank Sinatra loved each other madly, literally.
It was known to everyone in Hollywood at the time that Frank Sinatra was an unrestrained womanizer and Ava Gardner would fall into her trap given her spectacular beauty. The couple met in a restaurant in the early 40s and from the moment they looked at each other, the spark flew.
At that time they could not consummate because Ava was Mickey Rooney's wife, however, Sinatra, with her usual impudence, already let her know that he wished he had met her before Rooney because that would have been the way he would have married her.
The years passed and they did not meet again, Along the way Mickey Rooney was unfaithful to Ava on many occasions and that is why she knew perfectly well what it was like to suffer from a husband who cheats on you.
Ava moved to live in Sunset Towers, in an apartment next to her right hand, her maid Reenie. Frank bought the apartment next to her and, when he got drunk with her friends, he would shout for her attention and say hello.
In the end, Ava Gardner gives him the attention that Frank needs and they kiss for the first time, although Ava feels very guilty given that Sinatra was married to his wife Nancy Barbato with whom he had three children.
Like every unfaithful man, he assured her time and time again that the marriage was over and that he had no feelings for her wife... but he wouldn't leave her. Even so, Ava became his most passionate lover and achieved the unthinkable, taking him away from Nancy.
As Gardner writes in her own biography “My Story”: “It was magical. We became lovers forever, eternally. They are big words, I know. But I really felt that whatever happened we would always be in love. And God knows what happened."
They continued in the dark until a first -and high-profile- appointment catapulted them unwittingly into public view. The lovers met in Palm Springs back in 1949, They both met at the house of a renowned producer, Zanuck, and at the end of the evening, Frank Sinatra wanted to take Ava Gardner in his convertible.
The actress did not arrive directly at her house but rather the two of them, bottle in hand in the middle of the road, stopped in the desert night to drink, laugh, kiss, and shoot. Obviously, this last option of shooting at streetlights and into the sky caused the residents of the remote area to call the police.
When the forces of law and order showed up, so did the press, and her secret affair was exposed in such a way that a lot of trouble arose. Ava reflects on this: “Now, almost forty years later, I can be quite rational when thinking about all that, I even manage to smile sadly thinking about the fuss that was created, but then I felt deeply hurt and upset. The only thing I had done was fall in love. But unfortunately, I had fallen in love with a married Catholic.
From that moment on, all the celebrities pointed out, especially her, for that stale moralism of hers and even wrote her anonymous letters that began with the unpleasant phrase 'dear b*tch' that Ava remembered with great pain for decades.
With all the scandal, Nancy could not withstand the pressure and issued a divorce statement in 1950, which gave Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner more freedom to prepare for the happiest day of their lives, their wedding on November 7, 1951.
This day was marred by the previous night in which Ava received a long, detailed letter from a prostitute explaining that she was in a stable, parallel relationship with Sinatra. With all the things she said, Ava gave her credibility and she almost didn't marry her but Frank, as always, managed to convince her.
Her marriage was a disaster filled with damaging toxic jealousy, fights, yelling, accusations, and public scenes due to both of their desires for control and power over the other. They loved each other, that's for sure, but they loved each other badly.
On one occasion when Ava got angry with Sinatra, he pretended to have shot himself so that she would run to her side and, when she arrived and discovered the lie, he convinced her once again with her verbiage to return to the scene. side of her.
All this rollercoaster of feelings ended up exhausting Ava and she took a plane to London and later to Spain, leaving behind her life in the United States but not her love for Frank. At that time, they called each other from continent to continent but she made a mistake that she does not regret: “After one of those romantic Spanish nights, full of stars, dancing, and drinks, I woke up and found myself in bed with “Mario Cabré.”
He, proud of his feat, told everyone about it and the news reached the other side of the pond so Sinatra showed up in Barcelona to see what was happening. Upon verifying the situation, Gardner assured him that it was a one-night thing, but he never fully forgave him.
Ava had two abortions with Frank because she thought she couldn't dedicate the necessary time to a baby. In her book, she states: “Someone must have told him what I was doing because as long as I was alive I will never forget the moment I woke up after the operation.” And I saw Frank sitting next to me with his eyes full of tears. But I think I did well. I still think I did the right thing."
As a result of these episodes, their constant fights, and some professional failures of both, in 1953 the statement of their official separation was published. Frank tried to slit his wrists after overdosing on pills, but luckily he didn't succeed.
