Burt Reynolds was honored by friends and family on Sept. 19, however reports say there was some inner family turmoil after the intimate funeral service.
Two days after the funeral in Florida, Radar Online reports Reynolds’ ex-wife Loni Anderson, son Quinton and niece Nancy Lee Brown Hess held a private memorial for the late actor on Friday, but left his brother Jimmy out of the event.
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The outlet reports Jimmy was left brokenhearted at his family leaving him out of the private service.
“He is so sad and upset he couldn’t say goodbye alongside his family,” Jimmy’s wife Maria Reynolds told the publication Friday.
According to Radar, Anderson was behind the decision to keep Burt’s brother out of the private event.
The outlet reports that Anderson had a difficult relationship with her ex-husband, who passed away on Thursday, Sept. 6 at the age of 82 after going into cardiac arrest. The couple married in 1988 and divorced in 1993, with Anderson claiming years later that Burt had physically abused her.
The actress wrote about the alleged abuse in her 1995 autobiography, My Life in High Heels, where she spoke candidly about Burt’s struggles with addiction.
“The physical abuse I always blamed on the drugs,” Anderson wrote at the time.
Maria told Radar that Anderson blames Jimmy for not doing enough to protect her at the time, adding that her husband regrets not coming forward sooner about the abuse.
“Jimmy knew all Burt’s secrets, but that doesn’t mean he agreed with him or accepted all of it,” Maria told the outlet.
Family and friends gathered on Sept. 19 to honor the Boogie Nights actor on Wednesday at Family Church in West Palm Beach, Florida. The ceremony included several performances, as well as readings and eulogies given by Reynolds’ close friends and former students.
Maria added that despite the fact her husband and Burt were estranged near the end of his life, he was still hurt by the decision not to invite him to the private memorial.
“No one at the funeral knew Burt like his brother,” Maria told the outlet. “He looks back now and, of course, apologizes. But to leave him out of the funeral is horrible. It breaks his heart.”
The outlet reports Reynolds was cremated at the end of the week and his ashes were scattered at sea. He is survived by his adopted son Quinton, and Hess was appointed the trustee for his estate.
