‘Dynasty’ star Joan Collins had ‘volatile’ relationship with Elizabeth Taylor’s first husband: ‘He was nuts’
Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor were two brunette beauties from England who had one thing in common – being with Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr.
Collins, 91, is speaking out in a new BBC documentary, “Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar,” which is executive produced by Kim Kardashian. It looks at the life and legacy of the actress, who died in 2011 at age 79.
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Hilton, the hotel heir, was Taylor’s first husband. The “Cleopatra” icon claimed that he was abusive and, at one point, kicked her in the stomach, causing her to miscarry their child. He died in 1969 at age 42 from a heart attack.
When Collins was asked if she ever dated Hilton, the “Dynasty” star replied, “I did. He was nuts.”
“It was quite volatile,” she claimed in the documentary, as quoted by People magazine. “Once we were lying in bed, and he took out this gun from the side table and shot it to the ceiling. Nicky Hilton had a problem with being too good-looking and too rich, and I don’t think he got a lot of love from his father.”
According to the outlet, Taylor and Hilton married in 1950 when she was 18. It was far from a happily ever after.
“Once we were lying in bed, and he took out this gun from the side table and shot it to the ceiling.”
“I was a bit of a punching bag,” Taylor is heard in a voiceover, as quoted by the outlet. “And that’s when the reality of the world hit me. The reality is that I was not an adult, and I had to really grow up fast.”
The couple divorced in 1951. Taylor would go on to marry seven more times, including to actor Richard Burton twice.
Collins dated actor Warren Beatty in the late ‘50s before she became a movie star. She married her fifth husband, Percy Gibson, in 2002. The producer is 32 years her junior.
“First of all, we were great pals before we got married,” the actress explained to Fox News Digital in November. “We worked together on a play… We enjoyed each other’s company. We hung out together. And we saw each other the following year. We wrote love letters – it was a gradual thing. And we realized that we were very much on the same wavelength.”
“He is a really nice, kind, grounded person,” she shared. “Many of the people that I’ve been with – and I’m not going to specify which ones – have been either neurotic, slightly unbalanced, or gotten into different things.”
Critics have previously pointed out the couple’s age gap. But for Collins, it’s “just a number.” She noted that it’s “never too late” to find love at any stage in life.
“That’s how we both feel,” she explained. “And we were friends first, above anything else.”
She noted that they both share the same drive, which has been part of the secret behind their lasting union.
“I was born with a tremendous enthusiasm for life,” she said. “My mother used to say that I never kept still when I was a child. I used to do five different things at once. I would be doing a crossword puzzle, making a doll’s house, reading, painting, trying to become a detective – all at once!”
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“Life is a gift,” she stressed. “That’s why they call it the present – it’s a gift. And so many people waste it. It’s so sad. It’s a gift, and it does not last for a long time.”
Looking back at her life, Collins has no regrets – even after she and Beatty called it quits. Collins and Beatty began dating in 1959 and were engaged a year later before splitting.
“We were both too young, too selfish, too ambitious,” Collins reflected. “It just wasn’t right. I mean, I’ve had a lot of relationships. I had a lot of marriages. They don’t last. Luckily, you get older, and I met the man who’s the right person for me for the rest of my life. We’ve been together ever since. And we’re very, very happily married.”
“Breakups happen,” Collins shrugged. “It can happen based on different things.”
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