It's been over three decades since reports surfaced of an affair between John Malkovich and his Dangerous Liaisons co-star, Michelle Pfeiffer, but he has finally broken his silence on the illicit relationship that ended both of their marriages after previously claiming that it was "hard to believe Michelle Pfeiffer ever said hello to me." The 71-year-old actor was married to the late Glenne Headly for six years before they split in 1988 after his affair with Michelle, who was married to Peter Horton at the time, but they divorced two years later in 1990 after tying the knot in 1981.
John has now opened up about his biggest regret about their affair, admitting that not only did he ruin his relationship with his wife, but he also lost a friend and collaborator in Michelle. "It's not something I've ever really talked about," he said on the Fashion Neurosis podcast. "Put it in this way, in the work I do, you make emotional bonds with people very quickly. That's part of the work. Very rarely, those bonds extend beyond the work."
He continued: "For me, she was someone I valued greatly as a colleague, was great fun and moving, and with me, incredibly fair. And I certainly wasn't. I think I've learned over the course of my life that a great colleague is actually rarer than anything. And when that relationship becomes more than collegial or more than a friendship – even a profound friendship – then at least in my experience, and it might be my particular psychology or stupidity or ineptness or all of the above... you lose a great colleague."
Drawing a contrast with his decades-long partnership with Lithuanian actress Ingeborga Dapkunaite, with whom he has worked since the early 1990s, John explained: "Ingeborga and I are still, 33 years now, working together and have remained great friends and colleagues because there is a line we never crossed. That's what I've learned – that when a thing like that happens, it probably, might be, not retrievable."
John's marriage to Glenne, who died of complications from a pulmonary embolism aged 62 in 2017, ended the year Dangerous Liaisons was released, and she went on to marry musician Byron McCulloch. John later found love with Italian production designer Nicoletta Peyran, and the couple is still together today. They are parents to daughter, Amandine, and son Lowey.
Michelle, meanwhile, who has never publicly commented on the affair, went on to marry TV producer David E. Kelley in November 1993. Reflecting on her marriage in an interview with Parade in 2012, she said: "I got really lucky. I never take him for granted. I've never met a person who has more integrity than my husband. I respect that."
She added: "There's his humor and intelligence, too, and he's really cute, all those things – but if you don't respect your partner, you'll get sick of him." The couple had only been dating for two months when Michelle adopted her daughter, Claudia, in March 1993. They welcomed their son, John Henry, in 1994.