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In modern day Hollywood it is more the norm for the stars to get together, live together and have babies without getting married. While couples like Brad and Angelina are admired and loved by the fans today for being such a solid unmarried family unit, they would not have gotten away with it a few decades ago. In fact, there were quite a few babies born to stars who were unmarried, or married but to someone else, and these were nearly always hushed up. Even hidden. Here’s a few examples…

* Clark Gable and Loretta Young enjoyed a passionate affair whilst filming Call of the Wild in 1935. Problem was Gable was married to another woman at the time and Loretta Young was a strict catholic meaning he was technically off limits. Young fell pregnant to Gable and the strict moral code of the day prevented them becoming a couple, or revealing their secret child. Loretta Young went away for a year and returned to Hollywood with a baby girl she claimed she had adopted. The child was named Judy Young but later became better known as Judy Lewis.  Many quietly commented over the years on her striking resemblance to Clark Gable and when she grew up she penned a book about her life. She was an adult before her mother admitted the truth about her birth.

* Ingrid Bergman was publically vilified after she left her husband and young daughter for the director Roberto Rossellini; she bore him three children and for quite a long time her name was effectively mud in Hollywood…and this was the 50’s!

Many abortions were secretly dealt with too…

* Lana Turner and Tyrone Power had an affair during the late 1940’s which resulted in her falling pregnant. He got cold feet and left the terrible decision to her as to whether or not to have the baby. If she decided to terminate they had decided on a secret code phrase ‘I found the house today’ that she would say on telephoning him; if she decided not to terminate she would say ‘I did not find the house today’. Power took the phone call whereby Lana told him…’I found the house today’. Very sad really. Power quickly dumped her for unknown actress Linda Christian in 1948.

* Judy Garland was forced to terminate her first pregnancy to new husband, composer, David Rose on account that it would jeopardise her ‘good girl’ image. Despite the fact that she and Rose were married makes it even more tragic - and her husband was the one who sided with the studio bosses on the issue!

* Ava Gardner ( the most stunning woman of her era ) and husband Frank Sinatra were going through a rocky patch in their marriage whilst she was in Africa filming Mogambo with Clark Gable. She discovered she was pregnant and, against his wishes, terminated. He was reportedly devastated when she informed him. They divorced soon after but he loved her until the day she died over 30 years later.

* Going back even further - queen of the silent films Gloria Swanson had a well hushed up affair with Joseph Kennedy, father of JFK.  Kennedy was very much a married man at the time, staunch catholic, and rather a hypocrite when you look at it. However, Swanson fell pregnant to him and as it was during the 1920’s there was absolutely no question of proceeding with the pregnancy. She terminated and almost lost her life with the resulting infection.

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