Originally published on 2/22/25

It’s no secret that Audrey Hepburn was an amazing actress. From her work in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Roman Holiday and more, it’s no surprise that she is one of 21 people in history to have an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). Conversely, what is unexpected is her whirlwind of a love life. Not only was the actress married twice, but she was involved in multiple on-set affairs and almost married a soon-to-be British lord. We have all the details and even some quotes from letters written by Hepburn below. 

James Hanson

During the filming of Roman Holiday in 1952, Hepburn was also actively planning her wedding to a wealthy British businessman and soon-to-be lord, James Hanson. And while he was super excited about marrying the rising Hollywood star, Hepburn felt rather conflicted about the whole affair and in the end, the actress called it off. 

“It is with a heavy heart I am writing to tell you, James Hanson and I are no longer engaged,” the actress wrote in a letter to her friend. “For a year, I thought it possible to make our combined lives and careers work out…It is all very unhappy making, but I am sure it is the only sensible decision.”

Hanson went on to have two children and died in 2004 at age 82. 

Mel Ferrer

At the British premiere of Roman Holiday in 1953, Hepburn was introduced to Mel Ferrer—a stage and film director 12 years her senior. A year later the pair was married in Switzerland. 

“How dearly we would love you to be with us on our wedding day,” Hepburn wrote in an uncovered letter. We will have the car take you up to our mountain peak Friday for a gathering in our chalet of our nearest and dearest!.. Saturday will be the wedding…We want to keep it a dark secret in order to have it without the ‘press.’”

Hepburn and Ferrer worked together two years after their wedding on the 1956 film War and Peace. Four years later, the two welcomed their son, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, into the world. It was the couple’s first child and came after Hepburn suffered several miscarriages. 

Wrote Hepburn, “Sean is truly a dream, and I find it hard to believe he is really ours to keep.” 

In the end, both Hepburn and Ferrer had affairs, leading them to divorce in 1968 after 14 years of marriage. Ferrer said, “I still don’t know what the difficulties were. Audrey’s the one who asked for the divorce and started the affair with Andrea Dotti.”

William Holden 

One of Hepburn’s other affairs was with her Sabrina (1954) costar, William Holden, even though at the time she was married to Ferrer. 

According to the 2015 biography Audrey and Bill, by Edward Z. Epstein, the actress claimed he was  “the most handsome man [she’d] ever met.” She also reportedly was so head over heels in love that she wanted to marry him, but after learning he couldn’t have children, Hepburn called off the relationship. 

“Her desire for children was overwhelming, and though it broke her heart to leave Bill, she knew she wanted children of her own,” said Epstein. “They were everything to each other, crazy in love, and if Bill had been able to have children, they would have married in an instant.” 

The two did work together one more time, though, in the 1964 film Paris When it Sizzles. 

Robert Anderson 

Hepburn’s third reported affair was with Robert Anderson, a screenwriter she met while filming The Nun’s Story (1959). According to Epstein, the two began their affair after Hepburn learned that Ferrer was cheating on her. It remains unclear when Hepburn and Anderson quit seeing one another. 

Andrea Dotti

In 1969, Hepburn married Andrea Dotti, an Italian psychiatrist-neurologist whom she met on a cruise. The two welcomed Hepburn’s second son—Luca Dotti—in 1970, and while Dotti wanted more, Hepburn’s doctors advised it, since the actress was already 40 years old at that point. 

“He [the doctor] told her, ‘You shouldn’t tempt the devil,’” Dotti said. 

The two seemingly lived a happy life together, with Hepburn even taking a break from acting to spend time with him and her kids. Still, when word got out about Dotti’s numerous affairs with younger women, Hepburn divorced him after 12 years of marriage in 1981, with Dotti saying, “I was no angel—Italian husbands have never been famous for being faithful. But she was jealous of other women even from the beginning.”

Ben Gazzara

After a 10-year break from Hollywood, Hepburn decided to return for the 1979 Bloodline. It was there that she met actor Ben Gazzara and began having an affair with him. 

“Audrey was unhappy in her marriage and hurting. I was unhappy in my marriage and hurting, and we gave solace to each other and we fell in love,” Gazzara said. 

The two didn’t last, though, because after filming for Bloodline wrapped, Hepburn and Gazzara returned to their respective spouses. 

The two did meet up again in 1981 to film They All Laughed, but by that point Hepburn had moved on. 

Robert Wolders

Hepburn met her last love, Robert Wolders, in 1980 at a party. At the time, the actress was still married to Dotti, but that didn’t stop her from falling hard and fast for the Dutch businessman. One of Hepburn’s close friends even said that Wolders was “her spiritual twin, the man she wanted to grow old with.”

While the two were madly in love, they technically never married. 

“She [Hepburn] viewed us as being married. There were times in order to avoid confusion that she would present me as, ‘My husband, Rob,’ but never as, ‘my partner’ or ‘my life partner,’ or anything like that,” Wolders said. “What always pleased me or always sounded so nice was, ‘Have you met my Rob?’ Or, ‘This is my Rob.” 

Hepburn and Wolders remained together until her death in 1993, with the businessman saying in 1994, “They say the pain lessens over time. That’s a crock.”

Link to original: https://www.womansworld.com/entertainment/celebrities/audrey-hepburns-husbands-affairs-greatest-loves