Sophia Loren And Husband Carlo Ponti Fell In ‘Love At First Sight’ But Their Union Was Controversial

Aug 10, 2022 by apost team

Many people who know Sophia Loren respect her for the many high points she has had throughout her acting career. The Academy Award-winning Italian sensation is considered unique. In her film roles, she's able to combine her exceptional Mediterranean beauty with an amusing and sensitive approach. She's also received praise for portraying women realistically.

At one point, she was even named one of the greatest actresses of the Classic Hollywood era by the American Film Institute. In any case, Loren is a Hollywood legend and will be remembered as such.

Sofia Villani Scicolone, known professionally as Sophia Loren, was born in 1934 in Rome, Italy. Her breakthrough in the acting industry came in the early 1950s when she appeared in 1953's "Aida." By the following year, she became a household name in Italy when she delivered an outstanding performance in "The Gold of Naples." 

Loren was at the top of her career when in 1961 she even won the Academy Award for Best Actress for "Two Women," a movie that mirrored her own childhood during WWII. She also starred opposite some of Hollywood's most famous leading men including Frank Sinatra, Cary Grant, Anthony Perkins and more.

Despite her demanding career and her hard upbringing, Loren says that she doesn't regret prioritizing her children. And today, she is a proud mother of two successful sons who have followed their own creative paths in the film and music industries.

Loren has also had a complicated love life. She first met Carlo Ponti when she was 15 and he was 37, and after a few years of friendship, the two began dating despite the fact that Carlo was still technically married. They stayed together for 50 years, but not without several complications along the way. Read on to find out more about their love story.

Over the years, Loren has continued to be recognized for her dedicated work as an actress and has become an icon to many. On top of that, many people have continued to be amazed by her incredible good looks.

However, for Loren, what has mattered most to her are the people in her life. In an excerpt from the Daily Mail, Loren explained how important becoming a mother was for her. “By the time I reached the age of 29, my desire to have children had become an obsession,” she said. “I simply loved children.”

At the time, 29 was considered old to become a first-time mother, and Loren began to question if she would ever fulfill her life-long dream. Soon, though, she began experiencing pregnancy symptoms while playing a mother of seven in a film and went to the doctor to see if she was actually pregnant. 

Loren admitted that she “was desperately happy” and believed she was pregnant, but could tell that “something wasn’t right.” Shortly after, she lost the baby. “Afterwards, I went straight back to work,” Loren said. “But I felt gutted. It was as if the world had been turned off forever.”

Fortunately for Loren, her dream of becoming a mother came true on Dec. 29, 1968, when her first child, Carlo Ponti Jr., was born. Her second child, Edoardo Ponti, was born a few years later on Jan. 6, 1973. Although Loren was still working in the film industry during this time, she chose to slow down her career and focus on raising her sons.

While Loren seemed to have it all, she had some complications in other aspects of her personal life, specifically her love life. 

apost.com

Loren first met film producer Carlo in 1950 when she was 15 and he was 37. At the time, Carlo had been separated from his first wife, Guiliana Fiastri, but was still technically married. He also had two children with her.

Although the actress has said that the pair didn't begin a serious relationship until a few years later, their love was undeniable and eventually, they wed in Mexico in September 1957. They later annulled the marriage but stayed together, and officially married in France in April 1966. Loren and Carlo stayed together until his death in January 2007.

However, there were other complications within the couple's relationship despite Carlo still being married to someone else when they first met. Loren and Cary Grant, whom she co-starred with in the films “The Pride and the Passion” and “Houseboat,” had an affair.

Loren published a memoir in 2014 detailing more of Grant’s pursuit of her. According to the Guardian, Grant had previously asked Loren to marry him while they were working together; however, she chose to marry Carlo instead.

Speaking with the Sydney Morning Herald in 2019, Loren reflected on this pivotal life decision. “Cary was in love with me and wanted me to marry him but that would have meant my leaving Carlo and creating a huge scandal.”

The actress also said there was no secret to her long-lasting marriage to Carlo, but instead, a lot of love. Loren explained, “It was love at first sight for both of us … We genuinely loved each other.”

Despite all of the ups and downs, Loren admitted that she doesn’t have many regrets. “I think I’ve reached a peaceful life,” she said. However, she noted: “The only thing I regret a little is that I never got married in a white dress. That was the dream of my life, which is still inside me.” 

In an interview with The Guardian in 2020, Loren spoke further about her incredible life. She said:

“Things don’t change too much ... The body changes. The mind does not.”

Still just as beautiful as she was in her youth, the octogenarian even admitted to still sometimes having self-doubt, but she's found a way to silence her inner critic. She explained:

"But then I say to myself: 'Shut up. Be strong. Just keep going and try. Sometimes you make mistakes and sometimes you win.' I made some mistakes ... But still I won."

With years of wisdom behind her, Loren revealed some more when she was honored by the Sam Spiegel Film School in Jerusalem, Israel. As reported by The Jerusalem Post, Loren said:

“If life has taught me anything, it is to expect nothing and hope for everything. Expectations will always lead to disappointments. But to hope leads to expanding your dreams, and once you do that then everything is possible.”

The actress concluded her speech with another piece of advice for the film school's student body:

“If I can help you in any way today, it is to trust that inner voice of yours even if at first you doubt it. Doubting doesn’t mean you are going in the wrong direction. Doubting sometimes means you are scared to go into a direction that might reflect the deepest sense of who you are.”

Loren has proven that she has the brains as well as the beauty, and even as she nears 90, neither of those attributes has changed. 

What do you think about Sophia Loren’s career and love life? Do you believe she married the right person in the end? If you are a fan of this Italian actress, make sure to pass this article on to other fans too!