In Hollywood, where break-ups seem to be unusually high, it's safe to say that maintaining a high profile relationship is by no means easy. Many celebrities tend to keep their romantic entanglements under wraps, but when you're as famous as Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard the public is watching your every move.
Lange and Shepard were together for almost 30 years after meeting on the set of their 1982 film Frances. The pair were never too keen about discussing their private lives with the media, but since going their separate ways in 2009, both of them have opened up a bit about their "tumultuous" relationship.
In fact, Lange spoke about her former partner right before the news of his death surfaced.
"I wouldn't call Sammy easygoing and funny, but everybody has their dark side, and he always does it with a sense of humor," Lange told AARP magazine in the revealing interview published just hours before the world learned of his passing.
The late actor and Pulitzer prize winner died of complications from ALS on Thursday July 27 at the age of 73. Even after his split from Lange, they remained close and Shepard spoke about their longtime romance in a rare interview a few years ago.
Click on the next page to read what Shepard said about his relationship with Lange before his death.
Shepard didn't talk much about his family or relationship with the public but in 2010 he opened up to The Guardian in a rare interview.
"I mean, we have long periods of relative calm. But then you know," Shepard explained. "We're definitely an incredible match. But, you know, not without fireworks ... although at this point, you know, she's the only woman I could live with. Who could live with me! What other woman would put up with me?"
Despite the ups and downs, there seemed to be no bad blood between the couple and Shepard spoke highly of Lange.
"I've never known her, ever, to lie about anything. And I couldn't say that about ... about myself. About anybody. Men lie all the time," he said. "Whereas Jessica has this absolute honesty. I think it's a direct quality of the Midwest, of that background that she's from."
"I'd never met anybody like her," he continued. "She was astounding. One of the great things about her, aside from her natural beauty, which was remarkable, was her humbleness."
The couple had two children together, Hannah Jane and Samuel Walker.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Jessica, Hannah, Samuel and the rest of the Shepard's family. May he rest in peace.