All The Things Charlie's Angels' Star Farrah Fawcett's Exes Spilled About Her

The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse.

Known for her mesmerizing beauty and talent in front of the cameras, Farrah Fawcett is one of the most beloved Hollywood stars who rose to fame in the 1970s. Her bombshell image and her work on screen made her mark on the world, as her real-life charm and charisma also left a lasting impression on the men closest to her. From her marriage to TV superstar Lee Majors, to her tumultuous on-and-off relationship with actor Ryan O'Neal, and even rumors of a secret love affair in the later years of her life, Fawcett's romantic history was anything but simple, and her exes have had plenty to say about her. Following Fawcett's death from cancer in 2009, some of her former partners have spilled more about the late star and what she was really like behind the Hollywood curtain.

After landing her breakout role playing private investigator Jill Munroe on the hit series "Charlie's Angels" in 1976, Fawcett went on to become a cultural icon, establishing herself as a global sex symbol as well as a critically acclaimed actor. She was nominated for four Emmys, with nods for her performances in TV miniseries like "The Guardian" and "Small Sacrifices," along with the 1984 made-for-TV movie "The Burning Bed." In her prime, Fawcett was responsible for donning some of the most iconic '70s celeb outfits that defined the era, and fans today are still trying to learn how to recreate Farrah Fawcett's iconic '70s blowout. She was an absolute icon, so it isn't surprising that the men in her life had plenty to say about her.

While rising to fame in the 1970s, Farrah Fawcett became one of the biggest icons of the decade, and these throwback pics of Farrah Fawcett were peak '70s glamour. By the time she married fellow TV superstar Lee Majors in 1973, the two quickly became Hollywood's ultimate golden couple, but their highly publicized relationship wasn't always easy to navigate. With Fawcett's knockout performance on "Charlie's Angels" and Majors' legendary run as "The Six Million Dollar Man," they were two of TV's biggest stars. Ultimately, the magnitude of their fame took its toll. "It was quite the extreme. It was probably like Brad and Jennifer when they were together," Majors told Fox News in 2013. "The press was all over us and of course she was doing a show also, which was pretty popular. Naturally we really couldn't go anywhere. Back then you were working so hard you didn't even realize how popular the show was."

Majors echoed the same sentiment years later while speaking to People in 2019. "It was hard to get around," he recalled to the outlet. "It was not quite as hard as it is today, with everyone has a cellphone and the social media is so quick. Back then we only had to deal with the paparazzi at large. A lot of time you could evade them, but not all the time." Plus, both he and Fawcett were each increasingly busy with their flourishing careers and conflicting schedules. "There was a year or so when I think I saw her two weeks in one year," Majors added. "It's very difficult with careers like that. This business is tough. Working 14 hours a day, both of you, and the days went by."

Lee Majors was the only man Farrah Fawcett ever married, and even after parting ways, he had nothing but positive things to say about the "Charlie's Angels" star. The pair announced their separation in 1979, with Fawcett telling People at the time, "When Lee married me, he married a very compliant person who just wanted to cook his meals, clean his house and be dependent." She added, "I still like to cook his meals and clean his house, but I'm not dependent anymore. I feel so bad for Lee. I care about him so much, and he is trying to be understanding and protecting." The former couple finalized their divorce in 1982, with Majors later telling People, "I love Farrah and I always will."

By the late '80s, Majors had gone on to marry Playboy model Karen Velez, with whom he had three children before they divorced in 1994. He then tied the knot with Faith Majors in 2002, and the two have been married for nearly 25 years. The "Six Million Dollar Man" star later voiced his love and respect for Fawcett once again when she died at the age of 62 in June 2009. Sharing a public statement in response to her passing, Majors told Entertainment Tonight, "My wife, Faith, and I were saddened to hear of Farrah's passing. She fought a tremendous battle against a terrible disease. She was an angel on Earth and now an angel forever," per Reuters.

Following her marriage to Lee Majors, Farrah Fawcett famously had a relationship with Ryan O'Neal that was on-and-off for decades. The two never married, but in 1985, they welcomed a son together, Redmond O'Neal, who would end up being Fawcett's one and only child — O'Neal also had three other children from previous relationships. The passionate connection between Fawcett and O'Neal, described as being "electric" by their close friend Sylvia Dorsey (per People), had gotten volatile at times, with O'Neal ultimately admitting that the two had even become physical during some of their fights.

In his book, "Both of Us: My Life with Farrah," published in 2012, O'Neal confessed, "Farrah and I did get physical with each other when we fought," and he even included a shocking story about a particularly heated fight they had in their bedroom. "Suddenly, our six-year-old son is standing in the doorway in his Winnie-the-Pooh pajamas, staring at us. He's holding a butcher's knife," O'Neal recounts in his book, per The Hollywood Reporter. "He points the tip of the blade at his chest. 'I'm going to stab myself if you don't stop it!' That ended the argument." O'Neal and Fawcett's fiery chemistry would cause them to break up in 1997 after 17 years together. They later reconnected in 2001, when O'Neal was diagnosed with leukemia, growing closer once again as Fawcett supported him through his treatment and remission. O'Neal would later return the favor for Fawcett, staying by her side through her own cancer journey in the late 2000s.

If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

In the years after Farrah Fawcett's death, Ryan O'Neal spoke out about her final days, revealing in a 2012 Today show interview that the late actor was "so strong and brave" until the very end. "[She was] never afraid for a minute," he said. He also spoke about how their previously tumultuous relationship had become more peaceful when Fawcett was sick, telling Meredith Vieira that there was no more fighting, "no more knives" by the end of their time together. In fact, O'Neal had even asked Fawcett to marry him shortly before her death, and she said yes. But tragically, her condition took a turn for the worse quickly after. "The priest at St. John's Hospital arrives to marry us but administers the last rites instead," O'Neal writes in his book, per The Hollywood Reporter. The following day, Fawcett was removed from life support and died with O'Neal at her bedside.

O'Neal said that writing the book about his life with Fawcett helped him manage his grief, though at the time of the book's release, he still wasn't "over" the profound loss. "I got some relief writing the book ... but that was rough," he said at the time, per Today. While marking the 10th anniversary of Fawcett's death in 2019, O'Neal told People, "There was never a day I didn't love her." O'Neal died from congestive heart failure at the age of 82 in December 2023, and he was subsequently laid to rest at the Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, where he is buried next to Fawcett.

Following Farrah Fawcett's death in 2009, a man named Greg Lott came forward with claims that he had been Fawcett's secret lover during the later years of her life, although she was publicly involved with Ryan O'Neal at the time. According to Lott, he dated Fawcett while they were both students at the University of Texas in the 1960s. He reflected on their college fling in a 2014 interview with Texas Monthly, stating, "When you were with her, it was like you were next to a bright light. There was simply no one else like her." The pair supposedly went their separate ways after Fawcett dropped out of college to pursue a career in Hollywood—meanwhile, Lott ended up in prison twice on drug-related charges.

It was decades later when Lott claimed to have rekindled things with Fawcett. "Farrah Fawcett and I reunited," he told ABC News in 2013, describing their connection as a "loving, consensual, one-on-one relationship." He also claimed that they each had "no other" romantic partners at the time. But footage from the end of Fawcett's life tells a different story, as it was well-documented that she and O'Neal had been back together in the years leading up to her death. O'Neal was right by Fawcett's side in footage for the documentary film "Farrah's Story," which provided a raw, unfiltered glimpse inside Fawcett's cancer battle. O'Neal is prominently featured in the footage, and he can be seen lying by Fawcett's side in her hospital bed. Lott, however, sticks to his own version of the story, telling ABC, "[O'Neal] kept me from seeing the love of my life before she died ... Photos don't make a relationship. I know what I had with her. He didn't have that. He blew it."