Cary Grant’s ex-wife, Dyan Cannon, and actor Jason Isaacs, who plays Grant in the new Britbox series Archie, spoke about the rumors of Grant’s sexuality while he was married to Cannon. 

Cannon explained to uInterview founder Erik Meers her perspective on the rumors. 

“I never saw an indication of that. Once, on a ship liner on the way to England, I saw him be very cozy, flirty with the captain,” she recalled. “But other than that I never saw anything.”

Cannon was aware of the gossip before they were married but was unbothered by them. 

“Honestly, it wouldn’t have mattered to me,” she shared. “What mattered to me was the connection between us, and I must tell you that it was undeniably real, in the beginning.”

Things started to change when the couple got married, as unresolved abandonment issues started creating problems for them. 

Isaacs commented that the relationship took a “180-degree” turn, Cannon adding that “it changed radically.”

Cannon continued to explain how Grant’s difficult childhood was the root of the problem and how he felt unloved growing up. 

“That brought up all of the abandonment issues. What happens when a family unites? Because he never felt that one with a family. He was deserted, he was abandoned as a little boy. Nobody wanted him. That’s a horrible feeling.”

She shared how Grant wanted to feel like he belonged throughout his life and worked tirelessly to achieve this, which strained their marriage. “And his need to belong was overwhelming,” she said. “Which is why he worked so hard to have people love him. And everything and anything that would make people attracted to him.”

Isaacs noted that Grant’s sexuality probably wasn’t binary.

“As far as I am aware, he had many relationships, but the label ‘gay’ doesn’t really define what he was,” he said. “Today you might call him ‘fluid.’ If one believes what many people have researched in detail, then he certainly had relationships with men. One very long relationship [with actor Randolph Scott]. But then he was in love with women. He was in love with Dyan.”

Isaacs explained how Grant’s looks and the attention he received from this also affected him. 

“There’s no accusation of infidelity, it’s just I think he learned very early on what he had going and how to use it, which is he was gorgeous,” he added. “And he used that in every context to try and eat, first of all, and put a roof over his head. And then to make himself feel better about how horrible he felt.”

Archie is now available to stream on Britbox.

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