Liza Minnelli may have been married four times, but she’s not anticipating a fifth.
Minnelli, the daughter of Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli, went into detail on why her fourth marriage to producer, concert promoter and television personality David Gest made her realize she “will never marry again” in her newly released memoir “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!”
Minelli, 79, said the “bad marriage to an awful man near destroyed me,” and compared her union with him to her mother’s mistakes.
“In marrying this guy I got a low-rent version of my mother’s worst mistakes with men. Mama made bad choices, but mine was the worst,” Minnelli wrote.
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The actress described the damage from their union as “long-lasting.”
Their marriage took place from March 2002 until their separation in July 2003 — with the divorce finalized in April 2007.
Prior to Gest, Minnelli was married to Peter Allen from March 1967 until they separated in April 1970, finalizing their divorce in July 1974; Jack Haley Jr. from September 1974 until April 1979; Mark Gero from December 1979 until January 1992.
Minnelli claimed Gest “got his hands on” her bank accounts and “began raiding” them, spending money like they were billionaires.
LIZA MINNELLI FOUND HER FIRST HUSBAND ‘IN A COMPROMISING POSITION’: DOCUMENTARY
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Minnelli also claimed that she found out that he was “sleeping with more people than the private investigator I’d hired could even keep track of,” noting that Gest married her “for every possible wrong reason.”
She said his real crime was not him spending her money, it was him stealing her confidence, freedom and independence.
Minnelli also alleged that he controlled what she ate throughout the day, who she saw in person and who she talked to on the phone — to the point where her friends knew they had to get her away from him.
LIZA MINNELLI OVER THE YEARS: PHOTO GALLERY
Minnelli says she called what she had with Gest “barely” a marriage, calling him a “treacherous thief” and their marriage together a “horrible mistake.”
The “Cabaret” actress said that because of him, she became “wary” and “less open” with people and that he had “shattered” her ability to trust new people.
After that marriage, the star she said made a promise to herself: “I will never marry again.”
She said that while she can sing, dance and act, she doesn’t know how to make a marriage “work.”
Following their 2003 separation, the star said she felt free and was “overjoyed” about it, noting that no one was watching her day-to-day activities anymore like a “warden.”
Gest died at age 62 on April 12, 2016, due to a stroke.
Her mother Judy Garland, known for her iconic films like “The Wizard of Oz,” “Meet Me in St. Louis,” “A Star is Born,” “Easter Parade,” “Summer Stock” and more, died at age 47 in June 1969 from a barbiturate overdose.
Like her mother, Minnelli battled addiction.
The actress, who has been sober for the last 11 years, inherited her addiction from Garland, as did her sister Lorna and brother Joey, and said that Garland got it from her family: “Just like Mama’s sense of humor, all of us inherited it in the womb.”
Minnelli recalled that she took Valium for the first time after Garland’s death – while planning her funeral — noting that she “marveled” at how it had taken the edge off. Minnelli was 23.
“What began as a one-day blessing soon turned into a habit, then a full-blown case of addiction in the years ahead,” she wrote.
Minnelli went on to battle her prescription medication and alcohol addictions for the next 50 years before she took sobriety seriously in 2015.
Minnelli called herself the “original nepo baby:” “Mama is one of the most celebrated, beloved, and iconic performers. Papa is a trailblazing director who redefined cinema.”
Minnelli paved her own career. She joined the EGOT club — which is when an entertainer wins an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award – during her decades-long career.
She won a Tony Award at age 19 in 1965 for her role, which was her Broadway debut, in “Flora the Red Menace.” She won best leading actress in a musical.
Minnelli also won the Academy Award for best actress in the 1972 film “Cabaret.”
The TV special “Liza with a ‘Z’” that aired in 1972 led to an Emmy win, and she received a Grammy in 1990 — an honorary Grammy Legend Award.
Minnelli’s memoir “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!” was released on March 10 by Grand Central Publishing.
