Joan Collins Unveils Abusive Relationship With Elizabeth Taylor's Ex

Joan Collins and Elizabeth Taylor are considered iconic stars of Hollywood’s golden age with their versatile performances in several projects such as Cleopatra and Dynasty, respectively. The actresses, who were both subjected to comparisons by the media, had some things in common, ranging from their London roots to their romantic relationship with the same man, hotel heir Conrad, “Nicky” Hilton Jr. While Taylor made headlines with her brief but seemingly tumultuous marriage to Hilton in 1950, Joan Collins also later became entangled with the American socialite, and a new documentary has unveiled some troubled relationship history they shared with a mutual party.

In a new BBC documentary, Elizabeth Taylor: Rebel Superstar, which focuses on the life and legacy of the actress, who died in 2011 at age 79, Collins shared details of her relationship with Taylor’s ex-husband, and the full story is quite grim, according to her.

In a new documentary, Joan Collins confesses that she once dated Elizabeth Taylor’s ex-husband, Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr.

Joan Collins New Documentary — FROM ROGER MOORE WITH LOVE, Joan Collins, 2024. © Dartmouth Films /Courtesy Everett Collection

For the new documentary, while responding to whether she ever dated Hilton, Joan Collins opened up about her fling with the late wealthy heir. She described Hilton as “nuts,” recalling a particularly alarming incident where he randomly fired a gun into the ceiling while they were lying in bed together, corroborating Taylor’s claim that he was responsible for her miscarriage after giving her a kick in the stomach.

The 91-year-old stated that Hilton’s troubled life might have been a product of being privileged and neglected by his father.

Elizabeth Taylor says her marriage to Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr. was painful

In a voice-over from one of the new documentary’s episodes, Taylor, who tied the knot with Hilton when she was only 18, disclosed that the union quickly turned into the opposite of the fairy tale she had envisioned. Instead of finding happiness, she was subjected to emotional and physical abuse, forcing her to mature rapidly as she came to terms with the realities of her situation.

Tired of the constant maltreatment, the actress, who passed away in 2011, made the difficult decision to end the marriage. She publicly announced their separation on December 14, 1950, after filing for a divorce, which was finalized just over a month later, on January 29, 1951, resulting in the end of the turbulent union just after eight months.