Shirley MacLaine said she and her late husband "practiced an open marriage" starting in the 1950s, and said she would recommend it to others.
"No one understood it, we did," the longtime actress, 81, said of her 28-year marriage to film producer Steve Parker,
People magazine reported.
"He lived in Japan basically, I lived in America working, and this and that. We'd meet up, always great friends, traveled sometimes together."
MacLaine said that her open marriage, which began in 1954, seemed like "another lifetime," but added "I think that's the basis for a long-lasting marriage, if you really want to do such a thing."
She continued, saying, "I would say better to stay friends … we don't have enough time to talk about the sexuality of all. I was very open about all of that and so was he."
MacLaine, who is currently featured in the hit TV show "Downton Abbey," split with Parker in 1982. She and Parker had a daughter before splitting, actress Sachi Parker, who was raised mostly by her father.
Nowadays, MacLaine said she still has a romantic life, albeit a less-intense one.
"I'm having a relationship now that is teaching me about possessiveness with intimacy, and it's with my three dogs," she said. "I adore my dogs. And I've had to get a dog nanny/food lady for the dogs because I've been working so much."
Along with her role on "Downton Abbey," MacLaine has also released a new book recently, "Above the Line: My Wild Oats Adventure."
As ABC News reported, the book chronicles MacLaine's experiences filming "Wild Oats" in the Canary Islands.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.