The legendary love life of Hollywood actress, Elizabeth Taylor is once again in the spotlight with the release of the new Fox Nation docuseries, Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar, executive produced by Kim Kardashian.
Now, a person who knew Taylor better than almost anyone, her stylist and close friend Vicky Tiel, has revealed intimate details about the star’s most passionate romance. Tiel settled a question Hollywood has debated for decades: which of Taylor’s seven husbands she considered “the best in bed.”
Tiel confirmed to People magazine that, unequivocally, Taylor’s favorite lover was the acclaimed actor Richard Burton, whom she married and divorced twice after they first fell in love on the set of 1963’s Cleopatra.
“Absolutely. No question about it. Her lover for life was Richard,” Tiel shared.
Tiel recalled that Taylor “took sex very lightly” and maintained a very happy, fun-loving attitude throughout her high-profile life.
Even after their second divorce in 1976—which Taylor noted was due to them being “too mutually destructive”the bond between “Liz and Dick” remained profound. Tiel shared a touching final message from Burton, who died in August 1984:
“Before Richard died, I think two days before, he called me up… He said, ‘I don’t think I’m going to live very long, and I just wanted you and Ron to tell Elizabeth I’ll always love her the most. I love her forever and ever. And I miss her and I love her with all my heart.’”
Tiel recounted visiting Taylor shortly after, finding the star in her bathroom where the ledge surrounding her bathtub was covered entirely with framed pictures—all of her and Richard. This poignant detail confirmed that the tempestuous actor was truly the man who captured her heart and passion forever. Taylor kept one last letter Burton wrote to her days before his death, where he wondered if they might have another chance—in a bedside drawer until her own death in 2011.
The passion between the two began as an explosive extramarital affair on the set of Cleopatra, where Taylor played the Egyptian queen and Burton portrayed Mark Antony. The affair was so scandalous it was publicly condemned by The Vatican for “erotic vagrancy.” At the time, Taylor was married to singer Eddie Fisher and Burton was married to actress Sybil Burton.
Taylor’s son, Christopher Wilding, recalled the pain of the intense media coverage, sharing that he would learn about his mother’s latest news by reading the papers at boarding school, leading to “unpleasant taunts” from other children.
Despite the chaos they created, Taylor and Burton went on to become one of Hollywood’s most successful power couples, starring in 11 films together, including the masterpiece Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
