Elizabeth Taylor didn't just collect diamonds; she collected husbands, or at least that’s what the tabloids wanted you to believe for about five decades. When people talk about the marriages of Elizabeth Taylor, they usually lead with the number eight. It’s a catchy statistic. It fits the narrative of a flighty, man-hungry Hollywood starlet who couldn't stay settled. But if you actually look at the timelines, the legal documents, and the frantic telegrams sent from film sets in Rome or London, a much more complicated picture emerges. She wasn't looking for a revolving door. Honestly, she was a serial monogamist who happened to live in an era where you couldn't just "date" someone without a ring on your finger and a press release from MGM.
She was eighteen when she first walked down the aisle. Eighteen. Think about that for a second. Most of us are barely figuring out how to do laundry at that age, but Taylor was already the world’s most famous face, being pushed into a "fairytale" wedding to Nicky Hilton by a studio that saw it as a massive PR opportunity. It lasted eight months. It was violent, miserable, and set the tone for a life where her private heart was always public property.
The Myth of the "Husband Collector"
We need to address the elephant in the room: the sheer frequency. People look at the marriages of Elizabeth Taylor and see a lack of discipline. But Taylor herself famously said she was "a very moral woman" because she only slept with the men she was married to. In the 1950s, that was the code. You didn't live together. You didn't have "situationships." If you fell in love, you went to the courthouse.
After the Hilton disaster, she pivoted to Michael Wilding. He was twenty years older. He was calm. He was British. He was, quite frankly, a rebound into safety. They had two sons together, but the spark wasn't there. Then came Mike Todd. Now, if you want to understand why Taylor’s later life was so chaotic, you have to look at Mike Todd. He was the only husband she didn't divorce. He died. His plane, The Lucky Liz, crashed in New Mexico in 1958, leaving her a widow at twenty-six.
That kind of trauma does something to a person. It shatters the foundation. Her subsequent marriage to Eddie Fisher—who was Mike Todd’s best friend and, awkwardly, Debbie Reynolds’ husband—was less about love and more about two grieving people clinging to the only person who understood their loss. It was a scandal that nearly destroyed her career, until she almost died of pneumonia and the public decided to forgive her.
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The Richard Burton Era: A Love That Burned Too Bright
If we’re being real, when most people search for the marriages of Elizabeth Taylor, they’re really looking for Richard Burton. This wasn't just a marriage; it was a global event. They met on the set of Cleopatra. Both were married to other people. The Vatican literally issued a statement condemning "erotic vagrancy."
They married in 1964. Divorced in 1974. Remarried in 1975. Divorced again in 1976.
It was a cycle of booze, Shakespearean insults, and $1 million diamonds. Burton bought her the Krupp Diamond and the 68-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond. But beneath the jewelry, they were two intellectual equals who simply couldn't stay sober together. They were "too much." Too much fame, too much passion, too much scotch.
- The First Burton Marriage (10 years): This was her longest stint. They adopted a daughter, traveled the world, and made films that ranged from masterpieces (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) to expensive flops (Boom!).
- The Second Burton Marriage (Less than a year): A mistake fueled by nostalgia. They tried to recapture the magic in Botswana, but the old demons—mostly Richard’s drinking—hadn't left.
From Senators to Construction Workers
The final chapters of her matrimonial history are often the most misunderstood. After Burton, she married John Warner. He was a Republican politician. She became a "Washington wife," which meant wearing tweed suits and standing silently at campaign rallies. She hated it. She got depressed. She gained weight. She started eating and drinking to fill the void of her lost acting career. It ended in 1982.
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Then came the final act. Larry Fortensky.
You’ve probably heard the jokes. The movie star and the construction worker. They met at the Betty Ford Center while they were both in rehab. It’s easy to be cynical about it, but Fortensky gave her a sense of normalcy that none of the Hollywood moguls or actors ever could. They married at Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch in 1991. It was a circus—paparazzi in helicopters literally hung over the ceremony.
It lasted five years. When they divorced, she didn't marry again. She spent the rest of her life—nearly twenty years—focused on her true legacy: AIDS activism.
What We Can Learn From the Chaos
Looking back at the marriages of Elizabeth Taylor, it's easy to see a pattern of impulsivity. But there’s a deeper layer of resilience there. She survived domestic abuse, widowhood, public shaming, and chronic illness, all while the world waited for her to fail.
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If you're looking for actionable takeaways from her complicated romantic history, consider these points:
- Public perception is rarely reality. Taylor was often portrayed as a "homewrecker" or a "black widow," but her journals and letters reveal a woman who was deeply lonely and searching for a protector.
- The "Rebound" is a dangerous trap. Her marriage to Eddie Fisher is a textbook example of trying to heal grief with a new relationship. It almost never works and usually hurts innocent bystanders (like Debbie Reynolds).
- Intellectual compatibility matters. Part of why she and Burton lasted so long, despite the toxicity, was their shared love of literature and language. They didn't just look at each other; they looked at the world in the same way.
- Know when to stop. By the time she divorced Fortensky, Taylor realized that she didn't need a husband to be a complete person. She redirected that "matrimonial energy" into the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation, raising hundreds of millions of dollars.
The legacy of the marriages of Elizabeth Taylor isn't just a list of names. It's a map of a woman's life who refused to live by anyone else's rules. She was messy, she was dramatic, and she was unapologetic.
To truly understand her, you should look beyond the wedding photos. Start by researching her work with the AmfAR (The Foundation for AIDS Research). You’ll see that the passion she brought to her husbands was the same passion she used to change the world when the government was ignoring a literal plague. That’s the real story.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
If you want to dive deeper into the historical context of these relationships, look for the book Furious Love by Sam Kashner and Nancy Schoenberger. It uses personal letters between Taylor and Burton that were never before seen, offering a raw look at their psyche. Also, check out the 2011 auction records from Christie's "The Collection of Elizabeth Taylor" to see how her jewelry mirrored her romantic milestones.