Sally Field and Burt Reynolds Didn't Speak 'For the Last 30 Years of His Life'

Sally Field revealed she hadn't talked to her former love Burt Reynolds for decades, as she [...]

Sally Field revealed she hadn't talked to her former love Burt Reynolds for decades, as she promotes her new memoir.

The Maniac actress, whose new autobiographical book In Pieces, released Tuesday, spoke about her Smokey and the Bandit co-star and former lover, telling The View co-hosts during her visit on the show that the two had not spoken in 30 years.

"He was a hugely important part of my life, but for a very short period of my life," she said, adding the two only dated for three years and were on-and-off for two more, as first reported by PEOPLE.

"I really didn't speak to him for the last 30 years of his life," Field admitted. "I would feel him kind of reach out to me via the press. It was something he would do even when we were dating. He would speak to me about things he could call me on the phone about."

The actress added, "He would do the TODAY show and say, 'I need to tell Sally...' Well, okay!"

"He will be always be in my heart and in my history. I think at least he's not hurting right now," she said on the show.

Reynolds passed away on Sept. 6 at the age of 82, and Field recently told The New York Times she was relieved the actor would never read her memoir.

"This would hurt him," Field said. "I felt glad that he wasn't going to read it, he wasn't going to be asked about it, and he wasn't going to have to defend himself or lash out, which he probably would have. I did not want to hurt him any further."

Despite their relationship only lasting from when they met in 1977 to their public split in 1982, Reynolds said as late as 2016 that Field was the love of his life.

"I did four movies with Sally and spent five years with her. She was the love of my life and I screwed the relationship up. That sense of loss never goes away. I have no idea what Sally thinks about it. She could pick up the phone and speak to me but she never does," he told Event Magazine in 2016. "[Field's son] said that his mum talks about me all the time. Maybe she'll phone me one day. I'd love to have that conversation."

Field opened up about Reynolds' passing shortly after news of his death broke, sharing a statement with Entertainment Tonight.

"There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away. They stay alive, even 40 years later," Field said in a statement. "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."

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