Inside Loni Anderson’s Secret Struggles: 4 Marriages, 2 Kids, and the Untold Truth Behind Hollywood’s Glamorous Blonde Bombshell

Inside Loni Anderson’s Secret Struggles: 4 Marriages, 2 Kids, and the Untold Truth Behind Hollywood’s Glamorous Blonde Bombshell
The actress, whose death was announced on Aug. 3, was married to musician Bob Flick
Loni Anderson and Bob Flick attend the ‘Hollywoodland’ premiere on Sept. 7, 2006, in Los Angeles ; Loni Anderson and son Quinton Reynolds attend ‘The Grinch’ premiere on Nov. 8, 2000, in Universal City, Calif.
Loni Anderson was a wife and mother of two at the time of her death.
The actress, whose death was announced on Aug. 3, rose to fame in the late 1970s as she starred in the CBS sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati as Jennifer Marlowe, a role that earned her three Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy nominations. Just a few days before her 80th birthday, Anderson’s publicist confirmed to the Associated Press that she died at a Los Angeles hospital following a “prolonged illness.”
“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear wife, mother and grandmother,” Anderson’s family said in a statement.
Prior to her death, Anderson had been married four times: first to Bruce Hasselberg, with whom she welcomed daughter Deidra, followed by Ross Bickell and the late Burt Reynolds, with whom she adopted son Quinton. At the time of her death, she was married to Bob Flick, whom she married in 2008.
Here’s everything to know about Loni Anderson’s family, including her spouse, ex-husbands and two children.
She met her husband, Flick, at a movie premiere
Loni Anderson and Bob Flick at Gift of a Lifetime red carpet event on Nov. 28, 2023, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
While Anderson married Flick in 2008, they first crossed paths over four decades earlier
The pair met at a movie premiere in Minneapolis and posed for a photo together. Years later, they used the photo to decorate their wedding cake when they tied the knot in California on May 17, 2008.
“When we met, 5-17-63,” the inscription on the cake read, indicating that they got married on the very day they met, 45 years later.
Her husband was a musician
Loni Anderson and singer Bob Flick attend Liberty Hill’s Upton Sinclair Awards Dinner Honors on April 23, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
While Anderson made her mark on the screen, Flick built his career on stages. The musician was a founding member of a folk band known as The Brothers Four, per their website.
During an interview with ClassicBands.com, Flick shared that the band originated while he and his co-founders were in college at the University of Washington in Seattle.
“We had no idea or dream of being professional musicians at that time,” he said. “It was all music on campus.”
According to the band’s site, Flick is still an active performer with the group, though he also composes, arranges and produces music for TV series, documentary films and other video programs.
She was previously married three times
Loni Anderson and Ross Bickell circa 1980’s ; Loni Anderson and Burt Reynolds in 1992.
Anderson was married three times before she tied the knot with Flick. She first wed Hasselberg in 1964, though they divorced in 1966. Anderson was then married to actor Bickell, known for 1977’s Airport ’77 and 1995’s Major Payne, from 1974 until 1981.
Her third marriage was with her former costar Reynolds, whom she met in 1981, wed in 1988 and split from in 1993. After she and Reynolds split, Anderson was in a long-term relationship with Geoffrey Brown, though they never married.
During a March 2006 conversation with Massachusetts Daily Collegian, Anderson said that she believed marriage hadn’t “worked” for her because it sometimes made her feel “caged.”
The actress went on to say that Brown didn’t put restrictions on her, and she felt she could go “any time I wanted.”
She had a tumultuous relationship with Reynolds
Loni Anderson and Burt Reynolds at the 17th Annual Nosotros Awards on July 17, 1987, in Beverly Hills, Calif.
A few years before Reynolds died in 2018, the late actor opened up to PEOPLE about his relationship with Anderson, saying that marrying her in 1988 was “a really dumb move on my part.”
“I should have known that you don’t marry an actress,” he told PEOPLE in 2015, adding that their relationship had “ups and downs.”
“It wasn’t lollipops and roses,” Reynolds said.
The actor announced their split in June 1993, when his rep said his and Anderson’s marriage was “irretrievably broken.”
The statement went on to say that he had “the highest respect and regard for Miss Anderson,” though Reynolds “feels his priorities and hers have become different.”
Their divorce became complex when Reynolds admitted to being involved with another woman, only after he had become convinced that Anderson had cheated first, he alleged to Good Morning America: Evening Edition.
Meanwhile, Anderson remained tight-lipped about the divorce until 1995, when she accused her ex-husband of physically abusing her several times while he was allegedly under the influence of drugs in a November 1995 interview with SFGate.
“Burt always said no one would ever believe me because he was Mr. Wonderful and the world loved him,” Anderson said of the abuse.
She also claimed he was frequently late in making his $15,000 child support payments. Per TMZ at the time, it wasn’t until 2015 that Reynolds wrote a $154,520 check, officially finalizing his divorce from Anderson.
Though their relationship ended on rocky terms, Anderson told FOX News after his death that Reynolds was a “big part of my life for twelve years,” adding that she would “miss him and his great laugh.”
She had two children
Loni Anderson and son Quinton Anderson Reynolds at the ”Feinstein’s at Vitello’s” VIP Grand Opening on June 13, 2019, in Studio City, Calif. ; Loni Anderson and daughter Deidra Hoffman attend the Liza Minnelli and David Gest Engagement Party on Feb. 21, 2002, in West Hollywood, Calif.
Anderson was a mother of two: son Quinton and daughter Deidra.
The actress welcomed Deidra with her first husband, Hasselberg. Then, while she was married to Reynolds, the former couple adopted Quinton. According to ABC7, Quinton walked his mom down the aisle when she wed Flick in 2008.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, she is also survived by her grandchildren Megan and McKenzie, stepson Adam and step-grandchildren Felix and Maximilian.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.