Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood reportedly wasn’t a strong believer in monogamy, with a new biography claiming he viewed marriage as ‘a form of confinement.’
The revelation comes from author Shawn Levy, who explores the actor-director’s life in his new book, Clint: The Man and The Movies.
Drawing on interviews, reflections, and decades of public and private insight, the biography dives deep into Eastwood’s storied film career, romantic entanglements, and complex personal life.
Since his rise to stardom in the early 1960s, Eastwood’s love life has drawn headlines—starting with a first marriage marred by infidelity, followed by on-set affairs, a high-profile romance with a woman 33 years younger, and reportedly fathering eight children.
According to the book, Eastwood’s friends were ‘aware that he considered marriage to be a form of confinement, and he gave himself free rein when it came to other women.’
Representatives for Eastwood have been contacted for comment.
Hollywood legend Clint Eastwood reportedly wasn’t a strong believer in monogamy, with a new biography claiming he viewed marriage as ‘a form of confinement’ (Eastwood with late girlfriend Christina Sandera in 2015)
According to the book Clint: The Man and The Movies, Eastwood’s friends were ‘aware that he considered marriage to be a form of confinement, and he gave himself free rein when it came to other women’ (seen iwth Sondra Locke in 1988)
Levy himself weighed in on the star’s outlook in a recent interview with Fox, noting, ‘There’s a part of him that respects the institution of marriage. But his personal liberty, I think, eventually has equal weight, if not more weight for him.
‘He always tried to treat his partners with respect, but he also always followed his passions and instincts.’
‘I think, in retrospect, it’s an appetite,’ Levy continued. ‘It’s something that he found pleasure in, something he could do.
‘He did it before he was famous. He did it after he became famous.
‘There were periods, long periods, of his life, when he was faithful to a partner. And there were periods when he was in between partners or when he was unfaithful to his principal partner.’
Levy concluded, ‘He was not faithful in the traditional sense. He found monogamy to be confining, just the way he found being a studio contract actor confining.’
Even Clint seemed to acknowledge his wandering ways.
In a 1963 Photoplay interview, he reflected on his first marriage to Maggie Johnson, ‘One thing Mag had to learn about me was that I was going to do as I pleased. She had to accept that, because if she didn’t, we wouldn’t be married.’
Long before he was even famous, Clint fell in love with a University of California student named Margaret ‘Maggie’ Johnson, (seen together in 1960)
During his marriage, Eastwood began a 14-year affair with stuntwoman Roxanne Tunis (pictured), with whom he had another daughter, Kimber, in 1964.
The couple separated in 1978 and finalized their divorce in 1984, ending a marriage that began in 1954.
Years later, he opened up further to his authorized biographer Richard Schickel in the 1997 book Clint Eastwood: A Biography.
He confessed that his affairs ‘just became… I don’t know… addictive… like you have to have another cigarette.’
That ‘addictive’ pull led to a tangled love life that started long before he became a household name.
He met Maggie on a blind date in 1953, shortly after being discharged from the military.
The pair married just six months later and remained together for more than two decades, even as Eastwood’s rising stardom brought a series of affairs.
While still dating Johnson, he fathered a daughter, Laurie, with another woman — a fact he allegedly didn’t know at the time.
During his marriage, Eastwood began a 14-year affair with stuntwoman Roxanne Tunis, with whom he had another daughter, Kimber, in 1964.
Clint dated flight attendant named Jacelyn Reeves in the ’80s, and they had two kids – a son, named Scott, in 1986, and daughter, named Kathryn, in 1988; (Jacelyn’s seen with Scott in 2016)
He later embarked on a highly publicized 13-year relationship with actress Sondra Locke, his co-star in The Outlaw Josey Wales.
That affair was mired in controversy, ending in a bitter lawsuit after Locke accused him of emotional abuse and professional sabotage.
She also claimed he pressured her into multiple abortions during their time together.
In the midst of that relationship, Eastwood quietly fathered two more children — Scott and Kathryn — with flight attendant Jacelyn Reeves.
By the early ’90s, he was romantically involved with actress Frances Fisher, with whom he had a daughter, Francesca.
That relationship ended after Eastwood was photographed kissing TV reporter Dina Ruiz, whom he would go on to marry in 1996.
With Ruiz, Eastwood welcomed his youngest daughter, Morgan, and for years it appeared he had settled down.
But their marriage unraveled in the 2010s, with Ruiz citing emotional distance and the revelation of Eastwood’s new relationship — with her friend’s ex-wife, Erica Tomlinson-Fisher.
By the early ’90s, he was romantically involved with actress Frances Fisher, with whom he had a daughter, Francesca; (seen in 2017)
Eastwood and Ruiz officially divorced in 2014.
Shortly afterward, Eastwood met restaurant hostess Christina Sandera at his Carmel hotel, the Mission Ranch.
Despite a 33-year age gap, their relationship lasted a decade and marked one of his longest and most stable romances.
Tragically, Sandera passed away in July 2024 at the age of 61.
In total, Eastwood is believed to have fathered at least eight children with six different women, though he has never publicly confirmed the full count.
