'50s Icon Shirley MacLaine's Web Of Hollywood Affairs & Secret Loves

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

While many of old Hollywood's stars tied the knot several times (Elizabeth Taylor, we're looking at you), Shirley MacLaine is one of the very few celebrities who were married just once. However, that's not to say she was a one-man woman. Far from it, MacLaine has always been open about her romantic dalliances with royals, politicians, and fellow actors (oh, my). 

Despite marrying Steve Parker in 1954, MacLaine had an open relationship and was linked to a number of high-profile men over the years. For one, there was King Charles III's beloved great-uncle Lord Mountbatten, whom she was linked to in the '60s. According to Mountbatten's valet, their relationship was lengthy, and she had fit in well with his inner circle. "She often acted as Dickie's hostess and could hold court with anyone from heads of state ... the affair went on for many years," he told the author of "The Mountbattens: Their Lives & Loves" (via The Print). Speaking of heads of state, MacLaine has also spoken about her relationships with Swedish prime minister Olof Palme and Canadian PM Pierre Trudeau, as well as Australian politician Andrew Peacock. As seen in an excerpt of her book "I'm Over All That" published by Oprah.com, she once ended up in a sticky situation because of her scandalous overlapping relationships with the latter two. "After leaving Palme in Stockholm, I went directly to Paris to meet Andrew. The paparazzi were all over me when I landed. Andrew thought it was because of him, but it was actually about both Palme and him. The paparazzi must have thought I was Mata Hari or something," she wrote.

MacLaine also had relationships with showbiz figures, including a Soviet director whose real name she hasn't revealed, and actors Robert Mitchum, Danny Kaye, and Yves Montand. 

Like we said, Shirley MacLaine's marriage to Steve Parker was an open one — and their being married in 1954 , it was a situation few understood. However, in a 1971 interview with The New York Times, she admitted that marrying had been a mistake to begin with. "I really don't think people should get married," she said, adding that being 20 when she walked down the aisle, she was far too young. It's lucky, then, that she and Parker were on the same page about seeing other people. In fact, she joked to the outlet that Parker had no qualms about her spending time with other men. That said, she joked that there were probably parameters. "I don't think he'd like it if I took up with John Wayne or William Buckley," she quipped. 

MacLaine would reiterate her stance on marriage many years later in an interview with People's Jess Cagle, sharing in 2016 that even if no one else had understood the concept of an open marriage at the time she and Parker were together, it worked for them. Nevertheless, she said, "I think that's the basis for a long-lasting marriage, if you really want to do such a thing. I would say it's better to stay friends. ... I was very open about all of that and so was he."

MacLaine wrote in "My Lucky Stars" that she believed she and Parker were meant to be together in some capacity. "Our connection had the shock of destiny to it," she said. They ultimately divorced in the early '80s, and though it was reported that it was because he'd blown through her money, MacLaine herself denied that in a 2011 interview with The Times. "It was really just over," she said. Well, they certainly gave it a good go.