Mary Williams' Book: Jane Fonda's Marriage To Ted Turner 'Ate Her Alive,' Adopted Daughter Writes In New Memoir

New Book Claims Jane Fonda's Marriage To Ted Turner 'Ate Her Alive'
Jane Fonda and Ted Turner during TBS' 'A Century of Women' New York City Premiere at Hudson Theater in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Jim Smeal/WireImage)
Jane Fonda and Ted Turner during TBS' 'A Century of Women' New York City Premiere at Hudson Theater in New York City, New York, United States. (Photo by Jim Smeal/WireImage)

In her new memoir, Jane Fonda's adopted daughter, Mary Williams, opens up about her mother's failed marriage to Ted Turner.

In The Lost Daughter, Williams discusses how Fonda and Turner each coped when their marriage ended in 2001 after 10 years.

"While Ted was his usual upbeat self, my mom was greatly diminished physically and emotionally," Williams writes in her new memoir. "She’d lost a lot of weight from her already tiny frame. Though she continued to put up a front that screamed ‘Everything’s fine!’, I could see things were not. Emotionally, she was shutting down. Her marriage was eating her alive."

In a January 2012 episode of "Oprah's Master Class," Fonda herself commented on the difficult period following her split from Turner.

"I remember when I was 62 and I had done something that was very, very, very painful and difficult," Fonda said, "I had left Ted Turner, my third husband, who I loved very, very much."

She said that leaving Turner allowed her to seek wholeness, which she hadn't felt in years: "I knew that I would die married and rich, but not whole."

In his 2008 autobiography, Call Me Ted,Turner hinted at what caused his split from Fonda.

"Jane attempted to maintain her independence," Turner writes, but "our crowded schedules took a toll on our relationship. … [The media said] I was mad at Jane for becoming a Christian... I was upset ... [but only] because she didn't discuss it with me."

Fonda adopted Williams in the 1980s, taking the 14-year-old girl from the streets of East Oakland, Calif. and into her hacienda home in Santa Monica.

Today, Williams says she remains close to Fonda and Turner, who she calls a "true father" in her new book.

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