On the podcast À Voix nue by France Culture, Catherine Deneuve discussed her relationship with Roger Vadim. This legendary couple of French cinema in the 60s separated under painful circumstances for the actress.
The actress, an absolute star of French cinema now aged 80, confided that she felt "betrayed" and "abandoned" during their breakup. This relationship, which began during the filming of Les Parisiennes in 1960, quickly attracted media attention. Roger Vadim, then fifteen years older than Deneuve, immediately charmed her. Their romance lasted three years, during which they had a son, Christian, in 1964.
However, the same year, Vadim cheated on Deneuve with Jane Fonda, which led to the end of their relationship. Catherine Deneuve discovered Vadim’s infidelity through her sister, Françoise Dorléac. The breakup was particularly difficult for the actress, who explained that she left because she felt betrayed by the man who was also the ex-husband of Brigitte Bardot.
In the France Culture podcast, Deneuve recounted that raising her son alone was a very distressing period. She described this time as the darkest of her life, preferring not to talk about it further today. Deneuve concludes by saying that this experience remains a bitter memory she prefers to forget.