Did Paul Newman Ever Cheat on Joanne Woodward? Did They Ever Separate? – It is evident that Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward were a power couple because HBO Max’s “The Last Movie Stars” explores both their personal and professional relationship. They welcomed three children while also raising three more from his prior marriage, and they were married for more than 50 years (until he died in 2008). They also co-produced 16 movies. Thus, everyone loves to think that the couple lived a beautiful life, but in reality, they did have some hardships. According to their daughter Clea, taking those hardships away would be the same as taking away all of their work.
Recommended: Where Are Paul Newman’s Daughters Now?
Who Was Paul Newman?
Paul Leonard Newman was an American actor, director, race car driver, philanthropist, and businessman who lived from January 26, 1925, until September 26, 2008. He received many honors, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, the BAFTA Award, the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the Primetime Emmy Award, the Silver Bear, and the Cannes Film Festival Award.
Born in the Cleveland neighbourhood of Shaker Heights, Ohio, Newman first expressed an interest in theatre as a young boy and had his stage debut in Saint George and the Dragon at the Cleveland Play House when he was ten years old. In 1949, he graduated from Kenyon College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in both economics and theatre. After spending time on the road with numerous summer stock companies, such as the Belfry Players, Newman spent a year studying at the Yale School of Drama before enrolling in Lee Strasberg’s Actors Studio program.
William Inge’s Picnic was his first significant film role after making his Broadway debut. He then played supporting roles in a few more movies before garnering recognition and awards for his work in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), the latter of which also starred Elizabeth Taylor.
The Hustler (1961), Hud (1963), Harper (1966), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean (1972), The Sting (1973), The Towering Inferno (1974), and Fort Apache, The Bronx are just a few of Newman’s notable film roles. He also voiced Doc Hudson in the first Disney-Pixar Cars movie, which served as his final acting non-documentary role. Newman, a ten-time Oscar nominee, won the Best Actor prize for his work in “The Color of Money” (1986).
Along with John Whitehead, a former chairman of Goldman Sachs, and Josh Weston, a former chairman of ADP, Paul Newman co-founded the Safe Water Network in 2006 to enhance underprivileged people worldwide’s access to safe water. As a driver in Sports Car Club of America road racing, Newman won multiple national titles, and his race teams also achieved success in open-wheel IndyCar competition.
He was a founding partner of Newman’s Own food business, from which he gave all royalties and post-tax profits to charity. These donations have already exceeded US$570 million as of May 2021. The SeriousFun Children’s Network, established by Newman in 1988, is a global family of summer camps and programs for kids with serious illnesses. Since its founding, the network has helped 1.3 million kids and their families.
Newman had six children from two different marriages. He was Joanne Woodward’s husband, an Oscar-winning actress.
Joanne Woodward: Did Paul Newman Ever Cheat on Her?
The initial documentary series said that Paul and Joanne met while performing on Broadway in 1953 as part of William Inge’s “Picnic,” an up-and-coming play. Although it turned out to be his debut, and she stayed an understudy, the actual problem was that at the time, he was already married to Jacqueline “Jackie” Witte (McDonald) and was raising a family with her. As a result, Paul ended up divorcing his first wife to wed Joanne in early 1958, only to be labelled the golden couple soon after as they transformed from friends into something new over the years.
Although Paul and Joanne were well recognised for being wholly committed to the blended family they were creating, a combination of their background and their success may have contributed to this. During the 1960s and 1970s, the “Cold Hand Luke” performer also developed a reputation as a sex symbol, which eventually gave rise to various rumours of infidelity. As a result of this, Paul famously said, “Why to go out for a hamburger when you have steak at home?” — a remark that, as it turned out, irritated his wife since, according to the HBO Max show, he had practically referred to her as a piece of meat.
Given that they frequently discussed their failings, many people assume this is just rumour because neither he nor his life partner appear to have commented on the same. But some tales support these suspicions, claiming that Paul had an 18-month romance with divorcée Nancy Bacon, a Hollywood journalist, roughly 11 years into his second marriage. She was the one to formally end things because she was sick of watching him drink heavily, but she later said, “Paul may not go out for a hamburger, but he sure goes out for Bacon.”
Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman: Did They Ever Split Up?
According to “The Last Movie Stars,” Paul and Joanne did part ways for a short spell, but it had nothing to do with any kind of infidelity and everything to do with his alcohol problems. The “Rachel, Rachel” actress discovered her spouse unconscious and slightly hurt on the floor one morning, and because similar incidents weren’t unusual, her fear quickly turned to rage. According to the docuseries, she ultimately made the decision to leave the terrible atmosphere with her children, only to opt later to reunite if her husband stopped drinking.
According to the HBO Max original, Paul later acknowledged that he doesn’t deal well with ultimatums and spent a few days or weeks sleeping in his car before eventually returning to his wife. He was sincere in assuring Joanne that he couldn’t completely give up but pledged to stop drinking hard liquors, which essentially made her want to welcome him back into their family. Even after a disagreement, he once admitted to her that he had nowhere else to go.
In other words, although things weren’t always happy for the couple, despite all their efforts, the one thing that remained consistent was their willingness to stick together and provide solid support, which is why their love endured right up to the end.