Sally Field is mourning the loss of her former co-star and boyfriend Burt Reynolds.
“There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away. They stay alive, even forty years later,” the actress, 71, told Page Six in a statement on Thursday. “My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart, for as long as I live. Rest, Buddy.”
The stars met while filming 1977’s “Smokey and the Bandit” and also dated for five years.
In a recent interview on the “Today” show, Reynolds said that Field was the love of his life.
“Well, she was 7 when I fell in love with her,” he told Hoda Kotb in an eyebrow-raising interview. “She stayed 7 for about 11 years.”
He later clarified his comments in an interview with USA Today, saying, “I didn’t say 7. I said 37, I think.”
Reynolds’ death on Thursday morning was “unexpected” according to his niece, who also said he had health issues. He was 82 years old.