Behind the Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher Affair

Fans of Star Wars long wondered if there was ever a real spark between Han Solo and Princess Leia. As it happened, there was. Carrie Fisher wrote about their three-month-long affair in her memoir The Princess Diarist shortly before her passing.

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In fact, Fisher died only 5 weeks after the book was published and their affair was made public to the world. Neither Fisher nor Ford were incredibly happy about the affair. But for Fisher, it seems that the story needed to be set free so she could, too.

Here’s What We Know About Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford’s Affair

It all started while on location for the first Star Wars film. Fisher was 19 years old, and Ford was 33. Fisher had slept with one person before in her entire life — her one and only previous boyfriend. Ford, on the other hand, was married to his first wife, Mary Marquardt. He also had two children with his wife at the time.

According to Fisher’s memoir, the two met on-set and Ford was his usual grumpy, emotionless self most of the time. She, on the other hand, had a secret crush on him. While celebrating George Lucas’s 32nd birthday, the cast and crew got a bit tipsy. One thing led to another, and Fisher was wine-drunk. She was whisked away by Ford, but not in an uncouth or unwanted way. The two actors ended up locking faces in the back of his car while a chauffeur drove them elsewhere. Fisher referred to it as “exploratory kissing.”

Before they knew it, Mark Hamill, actress Koo Stark (whose cut never made it into the film), and a crew member named Peter Kohn had caught up to them in another car. They all ended up getting a bite to eat. That led to Fisher getting a ride home in Ford’s car, and the two had sex at her place.

Carrie Fisher Documented the Affair in Her Diary

Fisher’s memoir was a compilation of real diary entries from her diary that she’d kept since age 12.

She Didn’t Go Into Detail About the Sex

“There are some things I still consider private. Amazing, isn’t it? But sex is private. So, I put the kibosh on sharing what occurred between Mr. Ford and me on that fateful Friday night in May 1976, and on subsequent Fridays at ungodly hours.”

Fisher later told the Today Show that the affair was a “three month one-night stand.” The reason for this seems two-fold. Firstly, Ford’s lack of emotional intimacy didn’t leave much room for romance to bloom. Secondly, the relationship was primarily sexual. It was also secret. The two never let on that they were having any kind of sexual relationship while on-set.

Carrie Fisher Was Obsessed With Harrison Ford

Fisher admits in her memoir that she was obsessed with Ford and yet she’d be lucky to be 15th on his list of priorities.

“I’m sure on our relative lists of priorities, I might have ranked as high as number 15 on his agenda, while Harrison was my number one,” she wrote.

Fisher would fantasize about Ford divorcing his wife and the two falling madly in love with each other and getting married. This fantasy seemed to last all the way up until filming ended.

Towards the end of the affair, Fisher recalled accidentally and unintentionally almost referring to Ford as a “boyfriend,” and then correcting herself. That conversation led to Ford asking for some clarification as to the number of men she had slept with. When he learned that it was only one prior to him, he seemed to be heavily burdened with regret.

Ford Seemed to Think That His Co-Star Was More Sexually Experienced Than She Actually Was

The two flew back to Los Angeles together after filming, and sometime along the way, Ford and Fisher made closure.

Fisher referred to herself as a “hick,” to which Ford replied:

“No. You think you’re less than you are. You’re a smart hick. You have the eyes of a doe and the balls of a samurai.”

Fisher Later Regretted Sharing the Affair in Her Memoir

After Carrie Fisher’s passing, her brother Todd Fisher published a memoir about his sister and their mother, Debbie Reynolds (Reynolds passed away one day after Carrie). In My Girls: A Lifetime with Carrie and Debbie, Todd revealed that their mother was against the publicizing of the affair. He quoted his sister as telling Debbie, “You’re right, I shouldn’t have told that story.”

The Star Wars actress had no idea that the affair would cause such a public stir when she originally decided to print it. She told The Graham Norton Show that 400,000 news services picked up the story when it was hot off the press.

Harrison Ford Seems to Refuse to Read the Story

And as for the other party involved? Harrison Ford is still pretty mum about the whole thing. GQ pressed him on the affair less than 9 months after his costar passed away, and he didn’t say much.

“It was strange. For me,” Ford said. And while he confirmed that he’d received a copy directly from Fisher prior to its release, he still hadn’t read it.

You can read an excerpt from Carrie Fisher’s The Princess Diarist, courtesy of The Guardian, here. The full memoir is available on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook editions.

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