Frank Sinatra and Ava Gardner’s love story was exploded when they were spotted out for dinner together in 1950. They had been dating for months. Frank Sinatra met Ava Gardner in 1940, but they started their friendship in 1948, which later turned into a romantic relationship. At that time, Gardner had already divorced twice whereas Sinatra had had a family with three children.
Before their affair, Ava was going through good times, she had become a star in her own right. However, Sinatra was going through tough times. His fan’s interest was waning and his contract with MGM had been terminated. Despite all this, Sinatra didn’t care, he told Grander at the beginning of their relationship, “All of my life, being a singer was the most important thing in the world, now you’re all I want.”
The couple married in 1951 after Sinatra was granted a divorce from his then-wife Nancy Barbato. When the initial euphoria was over, they began fighting and hating each other. Over the course of their marriage, the couple had more fiery fights and hated arguments. Gardner was the breadwinner for their entire marriage which created an imbalance of power between the two. Sinatra attempted suicide twice while Gardner had two abortions behind his back.
After seven years of their furious relationship, Gardner officially filed for divorce in 1957. Despite their marriage being over, their affections for each other remained the same. They never stopped loving each other, Sinatra would send Gardner a floral bouquet, while she always kept a photo from the early days of their love on her bedside table.
When Gardner died of emphysema in 1990, Sinatra reportedly wept uncontrollably as was overheard saying, “I should have been there for her.” Friends of Sinatra said that Frank, throughout his life and all his loves, never quite got over Ava.
