The Truth About Vanessa Redgrave's Dating History

Following her divorce from Richardson, Redgrave fell for Italian actor Franco Nero. The two initially met on the Warner Bros backlot while filming "Camelot" in 1966; however, Nero wasn't so impressed with Redgrave on first glance after being introduced to each other by the film's director, Josh Logan. "I see this woman wearing blue jeans with holes, glasses, and no make up," Nero told the Los Angeles Times, adding, "I was sort of cold when he introduced us. I said later, 'Josh, are you sure you got the right actress? She's ugly.' He said, 'Don't worry, you'll see.'"

Going on to explain that he was "a young Italian boy who thought women had to be dark like Sophia Loren," he would eventually meet Redgrave for dinner and was knocked off his feet. "She was completely changed," he said. "Unbelievable."

During their relationship they had a son together, Carlo Gabriel Redgrave Sparanero, who would later become a screenwriter and director. It was shortly after his birth that they parted ways, but Redgrave and Nero would later rekindle their relationship in 2004 and eventually marry in 2006. "We were never really separated," Redgrave told BBC Radio 4 (via the Telegraph). "We had plenty of times when we weren't speaking to each other or when we were shouting at each other. Mostly the worst times were when we were not speaking to each other."

In an interview with Express, Franco put their relationship saga in the simplest of terms: "Life is sometimes very complicated. I always loved her."