After spending the night together, they arranged a date, but Nicholson later called to cancel because he had other commitments. When Anjelica asked if this meant she was a second priority, he responded that he doesn’t joke about such things. Nicholson already had a reputation as a ladies’ man at that time, and today it’s often said that at least 2,000 women have passed through his bed.
Photo: Rights Managed / Mary Evans Picture Library / Profimedia / Profimedia
That same evening, Anjelica went out to dinner with friends to console herself, only to see Nicholson at the restaurant with a “beautiful blonde”—his ex-girlfriend Michelle Phillips, a famous model, singer, and actress. Boldly, Anjelica approached the table and said she just wanted to say hello, to which Nicholson casually introduced her to Michelle.
“She was charming. I assume they were ending their relationship at that time,” Anjelica wrote in her memoir Watch Me.
However, this incident did not prevent Anjelica and Jack from starting to date and falling madly in love. At first, Anjelica didn’t realize what a womanizer and serial cheater Nicholson was, but she often found evidence.
“Sometimes I would find women’s clothing, hand cream, or little things in the soap dish… Sometimes I would take jewelry to see if anyone would come for it, but that never happened,” she recalled.
Photo: 20TH CENTURY FOX – Album / Album / Profimedia / Profimedia
Nicholson constantly offered her a hot-and-cold relationship. One moment he was crazy about her, the next he wouldn’t call, or he’d tell her they needed to “cool off,” only to then invite her out again.
At one point, Anjelica put her career on hold to focus entirely on their relationship. After a car accident in 1980, she realized she needed to change some things in her life and moved out of Jack’s house.
During the 1980s, the actor proposed to Anjelica multiple times and publicly complained that he couldn’t seem to get her to the altar.
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“Sometimes she says no, sometimes she says yes, but we never seem to get there,” he told People in 1985.
“We both believe in preserving our freedom. If you have a long relationship like we did, you go through certain changes. You want to be together but also have time for yourself,” she wrote in her memoirs.
In 1986, Anjelica won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in Prizzi’s Honor, directed by her father and co-starring Jack Nicholson. He later said he had never been prouder in his life than when he watched Anjelica raise the Oscar.
At one point, Anjelica left the actor for Ryan O’Neal, after which Nicholson returned to his vices—alcohol and drugs. The actress was even arrested once when drugs were found in his villa, according to Glossy.
The couple eventually reconciled, but a new breakup followed, this time due to Jack’s infidelity.
Actress Karen Mayo-Chandler told Playboy that Anjelica’s boyfriend “chased her around the bedroom in blue satin boxers” and that they only paused their encounters so he could eat peanut butter sandwiches. But that wasn’t the worst part—actress Rebecca Broussard was pregnant, and Jack Nicholson was the father of her child.
