Jane Fonda has long been known for her activism, but when it comes to feminism, she describes herself as a “late bloomer.” The actress said that she had to get divorced before becoming an “embodied feminist.” While on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, she revealed that she began understanding feminism on a deeper level after her divorce from her “favorite ex-husband.”
Though she didn’t name her “favorite ex-husband,” some people speculated that she might’ve been referring to her most recent husband, Ted Turner, who she split with in 2001 after 10 years of marriage. However, it’s more likely that she meant activist Tom Hayden, to whom she was married from 1973 to 1990.
In 2012, Jane called Tom her favorite ex-husband. Previously, Jane said, “I learned all the things that I consider the most valuable from Tom.” In spite of her appreciation for her favorite ex, the 80 for Brady star admitted that her “marriages were not democratic.” For this reason, she “could not be married” and consider herself an “embodied feminist” at the same time.
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“I had to be divorced,” Jane said while explaining why she was a “late bloomer” when it comes to feminism. “I could not be married. I’ve been married three times. I had to get that all out of the way.”
She described “driving across country” in her 30s and hearing about thousands of women marching and protesting for abortion rights. At the time, Jane didn’t fully understand the importance of this type of activism — she thought there were more pressing concerns.
“I wrote in my journal, ‘Why is this a movement? Why are they protesting? It’s such a waste of time when the war — it was the Vietnam War — war is going on,'” Jane recalled.
However, over time, she learned more about the movement through Gloria Steinem, Robin Morgan, and other feminist activists. Though she began to understand the importance of the feminist movement, the biggest shift in her perspective didn’t come until after she was divorced.
“When I was finally divorced — thank God — from my favorite ex-husband, I went and saw Eve Ensler’s play The Vagina Monologues, and she was performing it,” Jane explained. While “laughing” during the performance, Jane “could feel [her] feminism moving from [her] head to into [her] body.”
It was at that time that she finally became an “embodied feminist,” she recalled.
