—From “Ingrid Bergman: Superstar in Spite of Herself” by M. George Haddad, from the April 1979 issue of The Saturday Evening Post
Looking back over the past, does the celebrated lady regret anything? Her love affair with Roberto Rossellini, which eventually resulted in her rejection by the American public, and an unpleasant divorce? Resolutely she shakes her head, speaking quietly: “To regret anything is useless. Why waste time thinking about it? Everyone makes mistakes, and the results of many mistakes are often good. …
“Regarding the blow-up over my divorce from Petter [Lindström], it was not that the American people hated me, but simply that the standards of behavior were so different, so rigid then. I have always considered myself a woman capable of passion; my marriage to Petter had already fallen apart, and I fell in love with another man. Was that so terrible? But my image in Hollywood, playing Joan of Arc and so many ‘good’ women, was very different from my real life. Nobody could have lived up to that image, and when the people saw I was somebody else, many of them felt betrayed. It did not cause me regrets, because I loved Roberto very much, and he gave me such beautiful children. When I think back, I think only of the good times and happy moments.”
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