NEWNow you can listen to Fox News articles!
Liza Minnelli may have been married four times, but she’s not expecting a fifth.
Liza, the daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, has detailed why her fourth marriage to producer, concert promoter and TV personality David Gest made her realize she would “never get married again” in her newly released memoir “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!”
Minelli, 79, said it was “a bad marriage with a bad person that almost destroyed me,” and compared her encounter with him to her mother’s mistakes.
“In marrying this guy I got the lowdown on my mother’s worst mistakes in men. My mother made bad choices, but mine was worse,” Minnelli wrote.
Liza Minnelli, 18, with her mother Judy Garland, 42, in September 1964. (Staff/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
The actress described the damage from their union as “long-lasting.”
Their marriage lasted from March 2002 until their separation in July 2003 – the divorce was finalized in April 2007.
Liza Minnelli and her mother Judy Garland on the set of ‘The Judy Garland Show’ on July 16, 1963. (CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images)
Before Gest, Minnelli was married to Peter Allen from March 1967 until they separated in April 1970, finalizing their divorce in July 1974; Jack Haley Jr. from September 1974 to April 1979; Mark Gero from December 1979 until January 1992.
Minnelli said Gest “got his hands” on his bank accounts and “started raiding them,” spending as if they were billionaires.
LIZA MINNELLI FOUND HER FIRST HUSBAND ‘IN A DANGEROUS POSITION’: DOCUMENTARY
Liza Minnelli was married to David Gest from March 2002 until they separated in July 2003. (L. Busacca/WireImage)
LIKE WHAT YOU READ? CLICK HERE FOR MORE FUN NEWS
Minnelli also said he discovered that she had been “sleeping with more people than the private investigator I hired could keep track of,” noting that Gest married her “for all the wrong reasons.”
He said his real crime is not that he is taking his money, it is stealing his confidence, freedom and independence.
Minnelli also alleged that she controlled what she ate throughout the day, what she saw in person and who she talked to on the phone – until her friends knew they had to take her away from her.
LIZA MINNELLI THROUGH THE YEARS: Photo Gallery
Minnelli says she called what she had with Gest a “barely” marriage, calling him a “cheating thief” and their marriage together a “terrible mistake.”
The “Cabaret” actress said that because of her, she became “guarded” and “less open” with people, and that it “disturbed” her ability to trust young people.
After that marriage, the star said he made a promise to himself: “I will never get married again.”
Liza Minnelli and mother Judy Garland at an event in 1965. (Screenshot Archives/Getty Images)
He said that although he knows how to sing, dance and act, he does not know “how” marriage works.
After their breakup in 2003, the star said that he felt free, and “very happy” about it, noting that no one was watching his daily activities “like a watchdog.”
Gest died at the age of 62 on April 12, 2016, due to a stroke.
His mother Judy Garland, known for her iconic films such as “The Wizard of Oz,” “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “A Star is Born,” “Easter Parade,” “Summer Stock” and others, died at the age of 47 in June 1969 from a barbiturate overdose.
Like her mother, Minnelli struggled with addiction.
Liza Minnelli’s cover of her memoir, ‘Kids, Wait Until You Hear This!’ (Grand Central Publishing)
The actress, who has been sober for 11 years, inherited her addiction from Garland, as did her sister Lorna and brother Joey, and that Garland got it from her family: “Like Mom’s sense of humor, we all inherited it in the womb.”
Minnelli recalled taking Valium for the first time after Garland’s death — while planning her funeral — noting that he was “surprised” by how it started. Minnelli was 23 years old.
“What started as a one-day blessing quickly turned into a habit, then a full-blown addiction over the next few years,” he wrote.
Minnelli continued to struggle with prescription drugs and alcohol addiction for the next 50 years before finally drinking alcohol in 2015.
Liza Minnelli poses for a photo on stage with Lady Gaga at the 94th Academy Awards on March 27, 2022, in Hollywood, California. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Minnelli called herself “the original popo baby:” “Mom is one of the most famous, beloved, and iconic actresses. Papa is a hit director who redefined cinema.”
Minnelli thought about his own work. He joined the EGOT club – where the comedian won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award – during the decades of his career.
She won a Tony Award at age 19 in 1965 for her role in what was her Broadway debut: “Flora the Red Menace.” He won best actor in a musical.
Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles in the 1972 film ‘Cabaret.’ (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)
Minnelli also won an Academy Award for best actress for the 1972 film “Cabaret.”
The TV special “Liza with a ‘Z'” that aired in 1972 led to an Emmy win, and she received a Grammy in 1990 – the prestigious Grammy Legend Award.
Minnelli’s memoir “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!” was released on March 10 by Grand Central Publishing.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM
