Angela Lansbury met the love of her life, talent agent and producer Peter Shaw, when they were both working for MGM. The two quickly bonded as they were both Brits trying to succeed in Hollywood. Angela and Peter married in 1949 in London and enjoyed a rare showbiz marriage that lasted for 54 years.

However, Shaw wasn’t Lansbury’s first husband. Previously, she tied the knot with actor Richard Cromwell, but later, she called their marriage a huge mistake.

Married to a gay man

The 93-year-old legendary actress opened up about one of the biggest errors in her life – marrying a man she later discovered was gay. She wedded actor Richard Cromwell when she was 19 and he was 35.

© Above the Clouds (1933) / Columbia Pictures

The couple had been married only nine months and then abruptly separated without explaining the reason why. Lansbury comments:

The actress says that she was in complete shock when their marriage ended as she wasn’t expecting that. One day, she came home and found a note saying “Sorry, I can’t go on.”

Angela was devastated, she couldn’t understand why her husband would do that, but then, his publicist told her that Richard was gay.