Anna Nicole

[ceebeegee]

So, as Alex posted, Anna Nicole Smith has died. I've always been sort of a closet admirer of hers--she was flippin' beautiful when she was modeling in the early '90s, just this big gorgeous woman. And she obviously adored her son. I've found her pretty harmless--yeah, she didn't seem too intelligent but she seemed to have a good heart. One thing that really irked me was how much criticism she got for marrying this much older rich guy--as if, by definition, her motives were suspect. For one thing she refused to marry him until she'd established her modeling career--they met when she was still a stripper and he was all over her but she held off until later on, so that says she has integrity to me. And why is marrying for money so reviled , and yet it's fine and dandy for a guy to marry a woman 60+ years younger? Marrying for sex/trophy wife or for money (I don't really approve of either)--either way it ain't love and certainly his motives should've been as suspect as hers. I personally don't care why they married but the double standard pisses me off.

Bless her heart. She's had a horrible year and I wouldn't be at all surprised if this turned out to be suicide. I hope she's at peace.

Comments

[neoscribe.livejournal.com]

If she did love her husband, then maybe they are together again. And maybe she's with her son too.
Sorry. Closet romantic just trying to still believe in happy endings.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Me too...:(

[dry-2olives.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't call it a double standard because men who marry wealthy older women also see their motives suspect while older women with much younger husbands generally do not.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

WRT to ANS's situation, it definitely was. She was pilloried for that marriage and everyone just patted her husband on the back.

Also the reverse scenario is much more unusual--it is fairly common for men to be older, even significantly older, than their wives (hence the term trophy wife), so I think it's difficult to characterize attitudes about them. Certainly I remember Liz Taylor getting snickers for her marriage to Larry Fortensky, and Joan Collins for her marriage to a younger guy. The general tone seemed to be "you're fools because why would a younger guy want an older woman? Of course he's only marrying you for your money--he couldn't possibly want you sexually." And since the scenario of a man marrying a much older woman IS so rare, it is seen as suspect. Whereas the reverse is much more common--look at Jack Nicholson, Harrison Ford, etc. etc.--it's not seen as weird or unnatural.

[wonderpanther.livejournal.com]

The reason the marriage and age difference were shocking to me was because he was 89, not because he was older. I never doubted that she had feelings for him. I remember she explained that he was always nice to her when she danced. It was just a little icky for me to imagine them together physically.

[ceebeegee.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I mean it's definitely a huge age difference. Personally, it grosses me out as well, and I get very creeped out by men who are that much older going after young women, it feels generational (like daddy/little girl) and I dislike the whole "trophy wife" aspect, as though women were trophies, objects, and successful older men are entitled to that.

But from what I have heard, he was sweet to her and she responded to that, and although I dislike the general trend, I hesitate to criticize any one specific relationship since I have no way of knowing what goes on between them. (Although if I see a trend in one man--like Jack Nicholson--it's impossible for me to believe he just happens to have meaningful relationships only with much younger women. No, I'm guessing it's a status thing for him.)

Anyway my main point is that I object to the double standard of how she and he were respectively treated WRT their marriage. I just feel bad for her, and it seems like she had a terribly sad life in the end.