The age difference was disturbing to say the least. I give Bogart a pass on it because his previous wives had all been within an acceptable age range. Bacall was a fluke. She always seemed far oldr than she was, with her "try hard" sexiness. Bogart was taken with it. Although they had been married for 13 years when he passed away, I don't believe the marriage would've lasted. He cheated on her left and right and had a long time affair with one of his secretaries/assistants. She cheated on him while he was dying from cancer. She supposedly cheated with Sinatra while Bogart was dying. It would not surprise me considering Sinatra idolized Bogart to the point of wanting to be Bogart.
I'm in full agreement with the OP about the myth making with "Johnny and June, Richard and Liz and Joanne and Paul Newman". For some reason, people have the need to believe in these myths. Paul Newman was thrown out of the house by Joanne for drinking excessively and cheating. Johnny cheated on June with her sister Anita, and Richard Burton was living with some black woman in Switzerland while he was still married to Liz. He also cheated with a myriad of other women while married to Liz. Bogart cheated on "Baby" (what he called Bacall) and "Baby" cheated on him while he was at his most vulnerable. The more I find out about Bacall, the less I like her. She was sort of a bitch.
I survived because I was tougher than anybody else.- Bette Davis
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