Kirk Douglas and Anne Buydens: A marriage that braved the storms of infidelity, illness and loss for 85 years
To the rest of the world, there couldn't have been a marriage or relationship more entangled with infidelity than that of Kirk Douglas and his second wife of 85 years, German producer Anne Buydens.
However, before the legendary 'Spartacus' actor's passing at 103, he and his 100-year-old wife had addressed it all and more in their tell-all book 'Kirk and Anne: Letters of Love, Laughter and a Lifetime in Hollywood'.
They might have met on the sets of a film and from there gone on to have the most tumultuous relationship in the history of it all, but the Douglas-Buydens marriage has seen more than just infidelity — cancer and the loss of a child being just a few of those hardships.
The couple first met in 1953 on the sets of 'Act of Love' in Paris, when Kirk was courting actress Pier Angeli among other women and Buydens was married to a Belgian friend whom she had wedded "during World War II for safety reasons", revealed People.
They were introduced as Kirk was looking to hire a bilingual publicist and the film's director suggested his friend, Anne. Kirk has noted how right from the start, Anne had maintained that their relationship would be strictly professional.
However, he also claimed, "This self-possessed beauty (Anne) was very different from the women I had been involved with, in Hollywood since Diana (his ex-wife) left me."
Their relationship had started off as friendship, which evolved into Kirk being a good listener when Anne was finally able to confide in him and open up to him about her painful past in Germany.
Anne knew Kirk wanted more and she too found herself falling for him, but resisted because she claimed she had knowns women whose lives wasted away in affairs with big stars.
From spending romantic weekends together, to making Anne accompany him as he went to buy an engagement ring for Pier, the self-proclaimed "insensitive" Kirk never let Anne forget that he intended to marry someone else.
Shortly after, however, at the end of 1953, he ended his engagement to Pier and by May 1954, he and Anne were married.
Even though it took Anne packing her bags and threatening to leave him for Kirk to propose to her, the philandering ways of the actor didn't stop even after they tied the knot. However, it is perhaps Anne's surprisingly calm acceptance of Kirk's infidelity that helped them weather those early on crises.
While Kirk himself bragged in his 1988 autobiography about his wandering fancies, Anne revealed the mantra to their long term marriage in their joint book, writing: "Kirk never tried to hide his dalliances from me. As a European, I understood it was unrealistic to expect total fidelity in a marriage."
However, Kirk wasn't all wandering eyes and no time for Anne either, as he had once written to her in a letter: "Always remember darling, I need you...for you, I hope to do wonderful things in life. This is it—you and me and our family forever!"
On their journey towards a happily ever after, Kirk and Anne have soared to insurmountable highs and navigated the most harrowing of lows. While Anne was diagnosed with and underwent a terrifying battle with breast cancer, Kirk suffered a stroke.
Their biggest tragedy was losing their youngest son Eric Douglas in 2004, to a drug and alcohol overdose. However, Kirk lived up to his promise to do wonderful things for the two of them and for their 50th wedding anniversary, the two had the giant, massive wedding that they had never been able to indulge in.
As for Anne, she surprised Kirk by converting to his religion — Judaism, right before the wedding ceremony.
Eighty-five years later, Kirk had still kept his promise to always protect Anne, as his eldest son wrote in his tribute to Kirk, announcing the legend's demise.
After addressing how widely known and revered Kirk was, his son Michael Douglas concluded his tribute, writing: "But to me and my brothers Joel and Peter he was simply Dad, to Catherine, a wonderful father-in-law, to his grandchildren and great-grandchild their loving grandfather, and to his wife Anne, a wonderful husband."