Tragic Details About Debbie Reynolds' Love Life

The Golden Age of Hollywood gave birth to many stars, but few shined as brightly as the legendary Debbie Reynolds. She wowed audiences in the classic musical "Singing In The Rain" and quickly became a Hollywood A-lister. Her career spanned more than 50 years, and Reynolds tried her hand at more than just singing and acting — she was also an author, producer, and philanthropist, and maintained an impressive collection of classic Hollywood props and archives.

Reynolds sadly passed away in 2016, leaving behind decades of memorable film roles. But when she wasn't performing, Reynolds dealt with betrayal and heartbreak in her personal life. She was married three times, and each of her husbands made hurtful choices that complicated her life and career. Her spouses were unfaithful to her, and were entranced by Reynolds' fame and fortune. Many of her beaus selfishly used Reynolds' money for their own fulfillment. With each of her tumultuous marriages, she showed her strength by continuing to focus on her family and her love of Hollywood glamour. Reynolds still maintained her chipper spirit and love of entertaining, but it certainly wasn't easy given the fallout that came with each of her divorces.

Debbie Reynolds married her first husband, Eddie Fisher, in 1955. At the time, one of her closest friends was fellow Hollywood icon Elizabeth Taylor. Taylor married Mike Todd in 1957, and the two couples instantly became the best of friends. However, in 1958, Todd tragically died in a plane crash, leaving Taylor heartbroken. Reynolds and Fisher tried to offer their friend support in her time of mourning, but this soon caused Taylor and Fisher to become even closer — so close that they fell in love and Fisher left Reynolds to be with Taylor. Not only had Fisher abandoned his marriage, but he was also neglectful of his two children, Carrie Fisher and Todd Fisher.

"I was the last to find out about the affair," Reynolds told The Daily Mail in April 2010. "There had been hints in the papers and I had noticed that when I turned up at functions or parties on my own, my friends were whispering." Reynolds divorced Fisher in 1959, and he married Taylor that same year. He and Taylor divorced in 1964.

Todd Reynolds reflected on the life-altering love triangle that his mom was a part of during an interview with Fox News in 2023. "A lot of people were mad about that ... A lot of people were like, 'So your dad left the good girl for the bad girl,'" he said. He added that his mother was able to recover from her heartbreak by focusing on her passion for performing.

When Debbie Reynolds divorced Eddie Fisher, she didn't just lose her husband; she also lost one of her closest friends, Elizabeth Taylor. "We went to school together on the lot, when she was in between films," Reynolds recalled to People about how she first met Taylor. "I was just a beginner, and she and I were not in any manner alike, but we got along very well because I was in awe of going to school with Elizabeth Taylor." Reynolds was heartbroken when her husband left her for Taylor, whom she had trusted and tried to comfort in times of need. Not to mention, the press went wild with the story, and Reynolds couldn't escape the scandal. 

But years later, the two former friends reconciled. "I was going to London on the Queen Elizabeth ship and I looked up and I saw tons of luggage going by me and birdcages and dog cages and nurses and I realized Elizabeth was on the same ship as me. I almost changed my mind about going," Reynolds told PopEater (via The Hollywood Reporter). "I sent a note to her room and she sent a note back to mine saying that we should have dinner and get this over with and have a good time. Because we were very good friends when we were 17 and went to school together on the MGM lot. And we had a wonderful evening with a lot of laughs." The ladies even starred together in the 2001 movie "These Old Broads" and remained friends until Taylor's death in 2011.

Not long after her divorce from Eddie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds married her second husband, Harry Karl, in 1960. Karl had his own money from owning his own chain of shoe stores and was 11 years older than Reynolds. According to Reynolds' close friend, actress Ruta Lee, Karl's older age "reminded her of her father" and made him seem like someone who could take care of Reynolds and her kids following her highly public divorce (via Closer). Reynolds soon moved herself and her children into a high-end residence along with Karl and his children.

But soon, Karl started to show his true colors. He began to use Reynolds' money for gambling and other impulses. "[Karl] presented initially as someone who would take care of her and she wouldn't have to learn about money," Reynolds' daughter, Carrie Fisher, once said (via Closer). "That was her Achilles' heel, letting men have the final say." Karl ended up spending roughly $100 million of his and Reynolds' savings. The couple divorced in 1973 after 13 years of marriage. With Karl out of money, Reynolds was forced to pay a bill of $3 million to his creditors. In her 1988 memoir "Debbie: My Life," Reynolds said that Karl "wiped us out financially" and was an "unfortunate man" (via The New York Post).

After her first two marriages failed, Debbie Reynolds was determined to move forward. She met Richard Hamlett in 1983 and thought he was the answer to her prayers. "Marrying him felt right," Reynolds remembered in her memoir "Debbie: My Life" (via The New York Post). "We seemed to be kindred spirits." She added that at the age of 52, she didn't want to be "alone, afraid of loving again." They married in 1984, and Reynolds soon began financially supporting Hamlett. Reynolds also made Hamlett a producer of the 1989 traveling theatrical tour of her hit movie "The Unsinkable Molly Brown," to which he requested a colossal $20,000 per week.

Reynolds grew tired of undertaking Hamlett's financial burdens and, after learning of his infidelity, was determined to end her marriage with him. When she approached him about the subject, she recalled in her memoir, "I was sure he was going to toss me off the balcony. One shove and all his troubles would be over. I pictured myself plummeting twelve floors to the pavement." Hamlett told her, "You can't get rid of me. I control everything. It's all in my name. You're just a figurehead. You're nothing. And I don't love you." Her friend, actress Ruta Lee, told Closer of the relationship years later, "He really did her wrong. Her last divorce was especially devastating because she [believed] it was her last chance to find happiness with a man."

While Debbie Reynolds was not in the best place financially in 1992, her third husband Richard Hamlett convinced her to purchase and refurbish a defunct Las Vegas-based hotel and casino called the Paddlewheel, which was on the market for $2 million. Reynolds invested $200,000 of her own money to secure the hotel while also borrowing against mortgages on her other properties, selling her collection of antiques and jewelry, and asking famous friends for loans. After putting so much money and work into the project, Debbie Reynolds Hotel and Casino opened in June 1993. But as the hotel opened, Reynolds' marriage was coming to a close.

Hamlett agreed to divorce Reynolds after declaring that he only married her in the first place because of her fortune. But Reynolds soon discovered that Hamlett had backdated deeds to the properties they owned together and "transferred the estate to his girlfriend and his brother so that they wouldn't be included in his holdings when it came to determining divorce settlements," according to The New York Post. They divorced in 1996, and Reynolds paid Hamlett $270,000 to buy out his interest in the hotel and casino. She then filed for bankruptcy herself and was forced to sell the hotel in 1997.