Al Pacino’s ex Beverly D’Angelo has revealed that her first husband Lorenzo Salviati happily divorced her so she could be with The Godfather star.
The 71-year-old actress – who was in a relationship with Pacino, 82, from 1997 to 2003 – told People that the Duke of Italy, Salviati, branded the actor “amazing” when she admitted they were dating in the 1990s had fallen in love with him and she encouraged him to divorce.
National Lampoon star D’Angelo and Salviati eloped in 1981, reaching an agreement that they could do whatever they wanted, but “if there were any crises or anything, we would get back together.”
She said: “I always thought the boys I was with thought it was great that I was married because they didn’t have any responsibilities here! But when I met Al Pacino and told him about my little deal, he said, “Well, that’s crazy.”
Hollywood couple: Al Pacino’s ex Beverly D’Angelo has revealed that her first husband Lorenzo Salviati happily divorced her so she could be with the star of The Godfather (pictured with Pacino in 1999)
She detailed breaking the news to Salviati, continuing, “I said, ‘I’m in love.’ He says, “Oh, Beverly, who is it this time?” And I said, “Well, it’s an actor.” He said: “An actor? No, no, not an actor.” And I said, “I really love him and we’re talking about having kids and he thinks it’s crazy that I’m married and now I think I am too.”
D’Angelo, Salviati said, continued to campaign against the split before backing down after realizing her new husband was Pacino.
She said: He said: “Oh, that’s ridiculous. Who thinks this is crazy, this perfect relationship? Who is this actor?’ I said, ‘Well, it’s Al Pacino.’ He says: “Al Pacino, he’s fantastic. I love him. We’re getting divorced!”
D’Angelo said the divorce was a simple and straightforward affair, but years later she came to the conclusion that Salviati was, in fact, the love of her life.
‘Fantastic!’: The 71-year-old actress told People that Duke Salviati of Italy branded the actor ‘fantastic’ when she admitted she had fallen in love with him in the 1990s and encouraged her to break up with him to get divorced (pictured in 1982).
During their six-year romance, D’Angelo and Pacino welcomed twins Anton and Olivia, now 21, via IVF, with the children arriving when D’Angelo was 49 and Pacino was 61. The star said she’s “always grateful” to Pacino for fathering her a mother.
Beverly made her name as an actress in the 1970s and 1980s with films such as National Lampoon’s Vacation and Hair.
In 1980, she received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as country star Patsy Cline in Coal Miner’s Daughter, a biopic about the late Loretta Lynn.
“After knowing each other for three months, [Al] looked me in the eye and said, “I want you to be the mother of my kids,” she told Closer Weekly in an interview when the twins were 16. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
The sweet talk turned to slingshots and darts after the romance fell apart and Al and Beverly started a vicious custody battle.
Happier times: The couple were together from 1997 to 2003
Expecting: During their six-year romance, D’Angelo and Pacino welcomed twins Anton and Olivia, now 21, via IVF (pictured in 2001 while pregnant with the twins).
Beverly’s rep called Al “a controlling, harassing man who has never changed a single diaper” in the New York Post.
As a lawyer, Martin Wasser was similarly spiteful, claiming, “Beverly continues to use the children in a way that almost makes them hostage. We sometimes joke that we are dealing with a baby rental company. For every extra hour Al wants to spend with the kids, she wants more money.”
Eventually, they managed to settle into a friendly relationship while raising their children for the last several decades.
“The important thing is to create a new story and move from whatever dissolved that relationship to the new one of co-parenting,” she said.
“The most important thing I learned is the importance of acceptance. We all have a desire to change things we don’t like, but you can’t change another person.’
Since her breakup with Al, she has continued to act in films such as The House Bunny and Harold & Kumar’s Escape From Guantanamo Bay.
In recent years she has appeared in a number of smaller feature films such as David O. Russell’s Accidental Love and Robert Schwartzman’s The Unicorn.
Family: D’Angelo is pictured with her twins Olivia and Anton, 21, and niece Courtney at the TCL Chinese Theater for the premiere of their Christmas movie Violent Night last month