Not Paul Simon, Not Bryan Lourd: Carrie Fisher Said This Man Was The Love Of Her Life

Known for her iconic role as Princess Leia in the Star Wars franchise and being the daughter of legendary Hollywood actor Debbie Reynolds, the late Carrie Fisher was always in the public eye. This meant her relationships were as well, but she kept the identity of her greatest love under wraps for decades. 

Fisher was in a relationship with famous singer-songwriter Paul Simon on and off for 12 years in the late '70s until the early '90s during the height of her fame, including a turbulent marriage that only lasted a year, ending in 1984. The truth about Fisher and Simon's relationship is that they had intense arguments before finally ending their relationship around 1990. She then dated Hollywood talent agent Bryan Lourd from 1991 to 1994. While they never married, they did have Fisher's one and only child together in 1992, daughter Billie Lourd. In a shocking scandal, Bryan eventually left Fisher for another man. 

While those were both highly public relationships, Fisher later admitted that the true love of her life was a man she had to keep secret. In her bombshell 2016 memoir, "The Princess Diarist," which featured her personal diary entries, Fisher revealed that she had been in love with her "Star Wars" co-star Harrison Ford during their secret three-month affair on set while he was married to Mary Marquardt. Fisher was only 19 years old at the time while Ford was a staggering 14 years older than her. Fisher detailed how the co-stars were physically involved, but she believed Ford did not love her back. "I don't think, until now, he knew the intensity of my feelings," Fisher told The Guardian in 2016. "Even in the diary I don't like to admit it, because it's a failure. No, it's not a failure — it's unreciprocated love. Which I guess is a type of failure." 

In her celeb memoir that shook us to the core, Carrie Fisher detailed how much her affair with co-star Harrison Ford caught her off guard. "I was shocked by the fact that he fancied me. I was a very insecure girl and had only had one boyfriend," she told The Guardian. She explained that given their 14-year age difference, Ford misread their dynamic and overestimated Fisher's maturity. "He perceived me as this very confident, experienced girl. I don't think he had all the information! And when he got it, he behaved accordingly, and he didn't have to do that," she recalled. "He softened a bit, you know, to the degree that Harrison can soften." 

Fisher added that she was surprised that their affair lasted until they were finished filming "A New Hope." She then described how she ended up with Paul Simon after the whirlwind "Star Wars" romance, noting that Simon was similar to Ford. "They were both very cerebral and serious," she said.

While it was one of the dark secrets the Fisher tried to hide, she ultimately decided to take her and Ford's affair public in her last book shortly before her death on December 27, 2016. Earlier that same year, she admitted her feelings for the Han Solo actor still remained, while she also maintained a different kind of special connection with her Luke Skywalker co-star Mark Hamill both on and off the screen. "Yes, I love him. I'll always feel something for him," she said about Harrison in her interview with The Guardian. "I love Mark, too, but I love Mark more like a sibling. You can't pretend something for so long without some of it coming true."