The Dark Side Of Joan Collins And Maxwell Reed’s Marriage

We have all witnessed the stunning transformation of Joan Collins over the decades. The award-winning actress grew up during World War II and had a tough childhood but still managed to build a thriving career. Sadly, her personal life was difficult and painful at times, according to BBC’s documentary, “This Is Joan Collins.” 

It all started when Laurence Harvey, her co-star in “I Believe in You,” introduced her to Maxwell Reed, a successful actor. “When I was at school, I would stick pictures of all my favorite idols under my desk: Danny Kaye, Gene Kelly, and Maxwell Reed,” she told the BBC.

When Reed asked her out, she accepted without hesitation. On their first date, he took her to his apartment, where she was beaten, drugged, and sexually assaulted. “In those days, my mother would have said I was ‘taken advantage of.’ Now we call it date rape,” Collins confessed in her interview with the BBC. But despite what she went through, she continued to date Reed and eventually married him out of guilt.

Their honeymoon was a disaster, and things only got worse throughout their marriage. At some point, Reed asked her to sleep with a sheikh for £10,000, but she burst into tears and went home to her mother. The two divorced after four years of marriage when Collins was in her early 20s. Somehow, she found the strength to move on and forge a new life for herself.