Lovers Forever

Lovers Forever is back with a special episode! Join us for a conversation with Lora Stocker, board member at the Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, North Carolina. The museum is having a festival this October 7-9 in honor of Ava Gardner's centennial birthday. Lora and I talk about all things Ava, including how we discovered her, our favorite Ava performances, and what differentiates her from her contemporaries. We also talk about the museum's exhibits and collections, and--of course--the festi...

Despite their split in 1953, Frank and Ava never really got over each other. In the last episode of this season, we'll follow many of their reunions and moments of conflict throughout the following 36 years. When they were married, Ava was the one who rescued Frank from multiple crises. What we see when we take a bird's eye view of their post-divorce relationship is that Frank spent the rest of his life trying to rescue and take care of Ava. And then we ask the question: could they really hav...

By Christmas of 1953, it's clear that Ava is moving on from Frank. But there are flashes of ambivalence--late night phone calls, confessions to journalists--that keep him hanging on. Meanwhile, she takes up with the world's greatest living matador, and Frank's career resurgence begins its final, stunning chapter--an Oscar campaign that just six months before would have seemed laughably out of reach. However--this isn't the end for Frank and Ava. The song is over, but the melody lingers o...

Summer, 1953. Frank's career is finally on the upswing--he is now enacting the greatest comeback story in Hollywood history. From Here To Eternity is a huge success--but the power dynamic between the lovers won't allow for a partnership of equals. In the flush of triumph, Frank decides to walk all over the woman who supported him through his lowest of lows, including taunting her with new evidence of infidelity. A decision, as we'll see, that he thoroughly comes to regret, as Ava finally conf...

Today we embark on a far-flung journey to the hinterlands of Kenya for Ava's movie shoot, Mogambo. Frank is reluctantly along for the ride as Ava creates one of her best performances. All the while, he's plotting his career comeback, trying to land a movie role so perfect for him, it's like he was born for it. When opportunity calls on the other side of the world, Frank and Ava are separated again. Then their marriage faces its greatest test yet. Can you really be in love, if you aren't sure ...

Well, they finally made it...but what comes next? We follow the lovers on their honeymoon, and through their first tumultuous year of marriage. Frank's career gets even worse, if you can believe it, and Ava has her own rough patch on that front. Through it all, their cycle of fighting and making up becomes even more dramatic. Is marriage what they hoped it would be, or will they be disappointed? Join me as we recount the highs and lows of 1952. Content warning: this episode contains a de...

August, 1951. Frank has gone to Nevada to establish residency, so he can divorce Nancy himself. The future he and Ava have dreamed of is nearly within reach. And yet, both are faced with uncomfortable truths about each other, truths they've been circling around for a while, but are perhaps unprepared to fully face. These revelations unleash great chaos in an already volatile affair. How does their love survive? How do they make it to the altar? (This is a shorter episode this week as I had to...

This week's episode finds Frank and Ava locked in something of an uneasy holding period. Their career commitments continue to separate them geographically, and Nancy still won't grant Frank a divorce. Frank's long-simmering troubles with organized crime and the FBI finally come to a head, while Ava enjoys her most prestigious and high-profile role to date. In the midst of it all, Frank lays down one of his greatest recordings of all time. What does the song "I'm A Fool To Want You" have to te...

This week, we follow Ava to her new movie shoot on the windswept coast of Catalonia. Frank, meanwhile, is stuck in New York, missing her terribly. It's the first time they've done long distance, and it....does not go smoothly. When they reunite in Spain, Ava has a new rival for her affections. Content Warning: suicide attempt and related triggers. Skip the section 5:12-7:15 if such content is hard for you to hear today. If you are in crisis, please call the 24-hour National Suicide Hotline at...

Frank and Ava's affair starts out as "magic" in Ava's words. But before the new relationship can even get off the ground, it turns into a national scandal and press sensation. Will their uncanny bond survive the strain? And what does the national reaction tell us about America in the spring of 1950?