JANE FONDA Her Shocking New Decision
AFTER A SURPRISING BREAKUP, THE GRACE AND FRANKIE STAR EMBRACES BEING ON HER OWN
To most people, Jane Fonda seems to have it all. At 79, the still-vibrant actress is starring in two upcoming Netflix projects: the third season of her hit comedy Grace and Frankie and a film adaptation of the Kent Haruf novel Our Souls at Night, co-starring her old friend Robert Redford. And the Oscar winner remains politically vital — she recently flew to Canada to protest the building of oil pipelines through indigenous people’s land. As her Grace co-star Lily Tomlin tells Closer, “Ms. Fonda has a luster to her to which few of us may aspire.”
But close friends like Lily knew that while Jane was charging ahead with her work and causes close to her heart, she was less happy at home. In January, she ended her eight-year relationship with music mogul Richard Perry, 74. Though they never married, the thrice-divorced Jane once said that she’d “never known true intimacy with a man, [but] it has happened with Richard,” who has Parkinson’s. Still, over the past year, the couple realized they were growing apart. “It’s a shift in the direction of our lives,” says Richard, whom Jane has supported in his battle with the disease. “We care about each other a great deal,” but as far as their romantic relationship, he added, “that has been put on the back burner.”
MOVING ON
Though it broke Jane’s heart to realize her romance with Richard was over, she’s confi- dent they made the right choice, and she has the support of her friends and family, including her three children, Lulu, 49, Vanessa, 48, and Troy, 43. “When her kids learned that Jane was no longer happy, they encouraged her to do whatever she had to do to make her life better,” explains a friend.
In January, she and Richard put their $13 million Beverly Hills home on the market, but they remain close, dining together at least once a week. Still, Jane is focusing on her future: “She feels a new freedom as she starts over,” says the friend. In addition to keeping busy with her kids and grandkids and promoting Grace and Frankie, the actress also remains committed to her yoga practice and has been taking cooking classes. “I have a confidence about my life that comes from standing tall on my own two feet,” Jane has said.
As for finding a new love, that’s not her priority, which even Richard acknowledges, saying, “Jane has rededicated herself to activism.” Rather, the friend tells Closer, “I think she is looking forward to a little ‘me’ time.”
That suits the star, who sees only new possibilities ahead. “It’s never too late to start over,” Jane has said, “never too late to be happy.” — Louise A. Barile, with reporting by Maggie Harbour