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Jane Fonda mourned the dying of her ex-husband Ted Turner, who she was married to from 1991 to 2001
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“He swept into my life, a gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate and I’ve never been the same,” Fonda started in her prolonged tribute
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Turner died at age 87 on May 6
Jane Fonda is mourning the dying of her ex-husband Ted Turner.
The founding father of NCS and Turner Broadcasting System died at age 87, Turner Enterprises confirmed on May 6. In the wake of the information, Fonda, who was married to Turner for ten years earlier than their divorce in 2001, paid tribute to him in a press release shared to Instagram.
“He swept into my life, a gloriously handsome, deeply romantic, swashbuckling pirate and I’ve never been the same,” Fonda, 88, started in her prolonged tribute. “He needed me. No one had ever let me know they needed me, and this wasn’t your average human being that needed me, this was the creator of NCS, and Turner Classic Movies, who had won the America’s Cup as the world’s greatest sailor. He had a big life, a brilliant mind and a soaring sense of humor.”
“He could also take care of me,” she continued. “That was new as well. To be needed and cared for simultaneously is transformative. Ted Turner helped me believe in myself. He gave me confidence. I think I did the same for him, but that’s what women are raised to do. Men like Ted aren’t supposed to express need and vulnerability. That was Ted’s greatest strength, I believe.”
“He also taught me more than any other person or school classes, mostly about nature and wildlife, hunting and fishing (hunters and fishermen who follow the law are the best environmentalists), but also about business and strategy,” she added. “Ted was supremely strategic. It was likely innate, but he studied the Classics in college, knew about the Peleponesian War inside and out and the strategies used by Alexander the Great and even Genghis Khan. And sailing big boats as he did further honed those strategic talents which he then brought into his businesses to much success. He could see around corners for sure.”
“Next to Katharine Hepburn, Ted was the most competitive person I have ever met and that was fascinating to witness,” Fonda concluded. “Whether it was who’d made the most ski runs at the end of the day, to acres of land owned (stewarded is the more fitting word for his relationship to land), who had the most billions, how many countries he’d made love to his prior lover in and could I match that, it was challenging. Ted was challenging, but I’ve always been up for a challenge, and with Ted it was almost always worth it.”
Jane Fonda and Ted Turner.
Credit: ARNAL/Gamma-Rapho through Getty
Months prior to Turner’s dying in November 2025, Fonda spoke at an occasion benefiting the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential (GCAPP), which she and her ex-husband based collectively. Addressing the viewers, she grew emotional as she described Turner’s affect on the charity’s success.
“It was a very challenging time in Georgia. Had I not been with Ted, this was something, had he not stood by me with his love and support, we never would have survived,” Fonda informed the gang. “Ted’s not here, but he is here in my heart and I know he is here in a lot of our hearts.”
Fonda and Turner struck up a romance in 1990, after the actress had break up from her second husband, California politician Tom Hayden, that 12 months. They started seeing one another after Turner discovered Fonda’s quantity, gave her a name and requested her out.
“He wanted to know if I was available to date,” Fonda informed PEOPLE in 1990. “I think I said I wasn’t feeling so hot, that he was an interesting guy, too, but I wasn’t feeling peppy.”
Ultimately, Fonda opened up to relationship Turner, and their relationship grew to become some extent of captivation for the media, because the liberal Hollywood star and the conservative, audacious businessman appeared to be complete opposites.
One 12 months after they began relationship, Turner and Fonda had been married. The ceremony, held on Turner’s 8,100-acre plantation in Capps, Fla., preceded a honeymoon with their blended household.
“Ted can keep up with me,” Fonda told PEOPLE. “He’s a really, very humorous, lovable, sophisticated particular person.”
However, their newlywed bliss was soon interrupted when Fonda claimed Turner had been unfaithful, just one month after they got married. They remained together for many years after, though ultimately they just became too different, and in 2000, the couple separated.
Jane Fonda and Ted Turner’s 1991 wedding.
Credit: Liaison Agency/Getty
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Despite their split, Fonda and Turner remained amicable, with the actress even dubbing Turner “my favourite ex-husband!” at a charity auction in 2001, the year she filed for divorce.
“I nonetheless have an excellent relationship [with him]” Fonda mentioned in 2008. “Life is too short to be fighting.”
Turner’s skilled achievements in media included his invention of the “superstation,” which later grew to become Turner Broadcasting System, and the institution of NCS as the primary 24-hour information community. He was additionally a famous philanthropist, benefiting the setting and the United Nations.
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