Sidney Poitier passed away Thursday at 94, leaving behind his beloved wife of 45 years, Joanna Shimkus. But before he found everlasting love, the first black man to win an Academy Award for Best Actor was embroiled in a steamy, tumultuous affair with actress Diahann Carroll, that lasted for much of the s. At the time, Poitier was married to his first wife, Juanita Hardy, with whom he had four daughters. Carroll, then age 24, was wed to music manager Monte Kay. Despite their respective marital statuses, the stars were instantly captivated by one another and commenced a torrid affair.
He then allegedly convinced her that she too should get a divorce so that they could openly be together. Carroll kept her end of the bargain, and split from her husband, readying herself to move into a room apartment on ritzy Riverside Drive that Poitier had paid for. However, he soon phoned her to say he was having second thoughts about their romance, and was not going to leave his wife. Poitier finally split from his wife Juanita Hardy in , but the Hollywood heartthrob purportedly told Carroll that he did not want to jump straight into another marriage.
You belong to me! It will not sustain a relationship. I know that now. Carroll died in at the age of Sidney Poitier and Diahann Carroll had a clandestine affair while they were both still married to other people. Carroll claimed that Poitier promised to leave his wife for her. Their doomed relationship fizzled out in the mids. Carroll left and Poitier are pictured on the set of the movie "Paris Blues.
The pair are pictured with Paul Newman in 's "Paris Blues. Carroll and Poitier are seen together in Although their romance ended in the mids, they rekindled their friendship several decades later.
The ex-lovers are seen in Carroll says they eventually forgave each other for their heartache that their ill-fated romance caused.
