Actress, Jane Fonda is in the spotlight for her upcoming environmental documentary, 'GASLIT'. Amid this, read on to know about her relationship with her billionaire ex-husband, Ted Turner.
Jane Fonda is one of the most beloved veteran actresses in Hollywood. She first began acting on stage and then made her film debut in 1960 with the movie, Tall Story. In 1962, she came out with two movies, Period of Adjustment and Walk on the Wild Side, with the latter earning her a Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer. Jane's breakthrough, however, came a few years later, in 1965, when she played the role of a schoolmarm-turned-outlaw in the comedy, Cat Ballou. Following this, Jane has worked in a number of films and television series across several genres for nearly six decades, successfully establishing herself as one of the top actresses in the industry.
Recently, Jane Fonda has been grabbing the headlines not for her acting chops but for an environmental documentary titled GASLIT. Here, she will be seen on a road trip through Texas' oil fields and the Gulf Coast, meeting those on the front lines of the United States' fossil fuel expansion. With people looking forward to its premiere at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on February 5, 2026, many are wondering about the actor's private life. For those unaware, Jane Fonda was previously married to billionaire media mogul, Ted Turner. If you are interested in learning more about their relationship, keep on reading.
Jane Fonda and Ted Turner's relationship was one of the most talked-about celebrity relationships back in the ‘90s. One of the main reasons for this is that Ted was a well-known billionaire mogul and philanthropist who had founded several TV channels, including CNN and TCM. According to reports, Ted was the first to become interested in the Our Souls at Night star. Apparently, he confessed the same to none other than the former President, Jimmy Carter. Eventually, Ted and Jane dated for a few months and tied the knot in 1991.
After their marriage, Jane quit her acting career to focus on her family life, as she intended to remain with her then-husband for a long period of time. Although Ted and Jane did not have any children together, Jane became a stepmother to her husband's five kids. Unfortunately, after ten years of marital bliss, Jane Fonda and Ted Turner divorced in 2001.
It was in May of 2001 that Jane Fonda and Ted Turner finalised their divorce, putting an end to their decade-long relationship. At the time, according to a report by E! News, Jane called her marriage to Ted “irretrievably broken.” Despite this, both Ted and Jane wished the best for each other in their individual and separate statements. According to reports, Ted, during an interview with The New Yorker, claimed that his marriage with Jane had deteriorated because she had converted to Christianity.
On the other hand, for Jane, it was her husband's constant need for attention which caused a rift between them. She revealed the same during a conversation with the magazine, stating that “he needs someone to be there 100 per cent of the time. He thinks that's love. It is not love. It's babysitting.” It is worth noting that while Ted Turner initially claimed that Jane's becoming a Christian came as a huge surprise to him, in his memoir, Call Me Ted, he revealed that that wasn't all that led their marriage to deteriorate. Apparently, it was Jane not speaking to Ted before making the big decision that hurt him more.
If reports are believed to be true, their marriage often suffered from a lack of communication, which was complicated even more when they spent their time away from each other. Another major reason for their divorce was revealed by Jane in her own memoir, My Life So Far. Here she claimed that just a month into her and Ted's marriage, she found out that he had a “nooner” with another woman.
Despite Ted Turner and Jane Fonda's marriage ending due to various difficulties, the duo both look back on their time together fondly. In an interview with CNN, Jane claimed that she “had a great time for 10 years,” and that she is “so happy I got to spend 10 years with him.” In a separate interview with the same channel, Ted confessed that Jane was the love of his life. In his words:
“When you love somebody, and you really love them, you never stop loving them, no matter how hard you try.”
Almost two decades after their separation, Jane Fonda further elaborated on the years she was married to Ted Turner. From her conversation with Harper's Bazaar in 2021, one clear thing is that Jane appears to be a novelty seeker, and she is interested in men whose lives are contradictory to hers. She said:
"When I married Ted — I mean, marrying Ted is like marrying 15 people — you have to learn how to hunt, so I did. You have to learn how to fly-fish, so I did. He liked me to dress sexy, so I did. And so forth. I wanted to…Why be with Ted Turner if you're not going to allow yourself to be absorbed in his reality and learn from it? And I'm glad I did."
What are your thoughts on Jane Fonda's relationship with her billionaire ex-husband, Ted Turner? Let us know.
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