Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier: A Love Story Shattered by Infidelity and Mental Illness

Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier, once the most glamorous couple in Hollywood, had a relationship that was torn apart by infidelities and the devastating effects of mental illness.

In their heyday, they were the epitome of Hollywood romance, winning numerous Oscars and captivating audiences worldwide with their performances in iconic films.

However, their love story was plagued by a mental illness that was not fully understood during their time.

In his new book Truly, Madly, Stephen Galloway delves into the tragic truth behind this golden couple's love affair.

As the first married couple to achieve global fame in the era of sound films, Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier seemed to have it all.

But their relationship was transformed from a fairytale into a living nightmare by a mental illness that neither of them could comprehend.

Their passion was intense and all-consuming, far from the soft and sentimental love portrayed in Hollywood movies.

In October 1933, Vivien gave birth to their daughter Suzanne.

Just ten months later, she saw Laurence for the first time on stage and whispered to a companion, “That's the man I'm going to marry,” forgetting her wedding vows to lawyer Leigh Holman.

In May 1935, Laurence saw Vivien perform and shortly after, they met at the Savoy Grill while in the company of mutual friends.

Vivien accepted Laurence's invitation to a garden party he and his wife Jill were hosting, and on January 27, 1936, they had their first lunch together alone.

Their relationship gradually evolved from formal to intimate, as Laurence's diary entries indicate.

He went from referring to her as “Vivien Leigh” to “Vivien,” then “Viv,” and finally “Vivling,” the same pet name her husband had used.

Laurence not only stole the man's wife, but also his language.

In July 1936, they began working on the film Fire Over England and could not resist each other's company.

They would sneak off whenever they had a chance, finding private spaces to talk, laugh, and touch.

Their love-making was constant, with Laurence confessing to a friend that they were intimate two or three times every day.

Vivien later remarked that she never slept; she only cherished every moment they spent together.

Laurence's wife Jill, left alone in their house in Chelsea, couldn't have been oblivious to their affair.

She noticed Vivien's perfume on her husband and hoped the affair would fizzle out.

In the final weeks of her pregnancy, she was forced to remain still on doctor's orders.

Despite the birth of his son and his fondness for reciting Shakespeare to him, Laurence's bond with Vivien remained unbreakable.

He even took the deceitful step of introducing her to his newborn, which deeply hurt Jill.

In June 1937, Vivien and Laurence seized an opportunity to be together.

While her husband and daughter were still asleep, Vivien disappeared without a word.

Laurence wrote around 200 letters expressing his longing for her, all of which Vivien kept bound in a red ribbon in her bedside table.

These preserved letters can still be found in her archive at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

In these letters, Laurence expressed his adoration for Vivien's originality and even admired her anger.

However, an incident during rehearsals for a stage production of Hamlet revealed a darker side to Vivien's mental state.

Laurence reported that she had attacked him and had some kind of fit.

When she emerged, she appeared unrecognizable, staring blankly into space.

It was clear that Vivien was suffering from a serious mental illness, but in that era, very little was known about such conditions.

Even Vivien herself was unaware of the extent of her illness.

Three years later, she won an Academy Award for her iconic role as Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind, becoming a Hollywood sensation.

In August 1940, Vivien and Laurence got married in Santa Barbara, joined by their friends Katharine Hepburn and writer Garson Kanin.

They returned to London after the city had been damaged by German bombings.

In April 1941, Laurence enlisted with the Royal Navy and reported to his base in Lee-on-Solent, leaving Vivien behind.

During this time, Vivien suffered two miscarriages, which plunged her into depression.

Her mood swings became more extreme, cycling rapidly between periods of exaltation and dejection.

Laurence witnessed these fluctuations, causing immense distress for both of them.

Diagnosing Vivien as “mad” would have meant subjecting her to psychiatric treatment or even confinement, as women were often labeled as “hysterics” and locked away for extended periods.

It was rare for someone to seek psychiatric help voluntarily.

When Vivien returned to work on Cleopatra in 1944 after a five-week absence, Laurence mistakenly believed that she was better.

Little did he know that her condition was just beginning to worsen.

Vivien's manic highs were followed by devastating lows, sometimes lasting for months, while other times alternating rapidly.

There were occasions when their arguments escalated dramatically, with smoke billowing from a burning bed during one incident.

In early 1949, Vivien shocked Laurence by confessing that she no longer loved him in the same way, comparing her feelings to that of a brother.

For Laurence, it felt like a death sentence.

He described it as the removal of the central force in his life, the heart that had been expertly excised by a surgeon.

Both Vivien and Laurence sought solace in extramarital affairs.

Marlon Brando, who worked with Vivien on A Streetcar Named Desire in 1950, claimed that she slept with almost everyone and was deteriorating mentally and physically.

While filming Elephant Walk in Sri Lanka in 1953, Vivien fell for actor Peter Finch.

It was during this time that she started experiencing psychotic episodes and hallucinations.

Her mental state deteriorated to the point where she required a team of nurses to care for her.

She was eventually flown back to London for treatment, weeping and resisting as Laurence dragged her onto the plane.

Upon landing, Vivien was met by four doctors and two