William Daniels and Bonnie Bartlett are framing this as the natural byproduct of 75 years together—nothing scandalous, just two actors who occasionally wandered. Their anniversary celebration next month takes center stage while the confessions become a footnote about Hollywood's complicated relationships.
Insiders say Bartlett's memoir 'Middle of the Rainbow' contains far juicier details than what's being reported publicly. The identity of that 'slightly boring' actor remains protected, but sources close to the couple hint there were other dalliances on both sides throughout their seven-decade marriage—not just the one with a producer in the '70s that broke Bartlett's heart.
Bartlett writes she had an affair lasting 'a few months' beginning in 1959, describing the unnamed actor as 'slightly boring' but admitting 'the sex was good.' She married Daniels on June 30, 1951—they're set to celebrate their 75th anniversary next month. Bartlett is 96; Daniels turns 100 this year.
Seventy-five years of marriage and both parties openly confessing to strays? That's either remarkably progressive or deeply dysfunctional—possibly both.
Bonnie Bartlett just dropped a bombshell that proves old Hollywood marriages were messier than any reboot could handle. The 96-year-old actress—married to 'Boy Meets World' legend William Daniels since June 30, 1951—confesses in her 2023 memoir 'Middle of the Rainbow' that she embarked on a months-long affair with another actor back in 1959. And get this: she described him as 'slightly boring.' But here's where it gets interesting—she added that 'the sex was good.' So apparently, boring but competent in the bedroom.
Bartlett explained she began hunting for a "kinder and gentler man" during those early years of marriage, suggesting the union with Daniels—best known for playing Mr. Feeny on 'Boy Meets World'—wasn't always the fairy tale their upcoming 75th anniversary might imply. The actress showed zero remorse about her infidelity, writing: "I never felt guilty because I never felt tied to fidelity, and neither did Bill." That's a bold stance for 1959—or any decade, really.
But karma has a sense of humor. Bartlett was 'devastated' when Daniels himself got caught having an affair with a producer in the 1970s. Suddenly, her own months-long fling didn't seem so liberating anymore.
She realized she "could no longer tolerate any kind of open marriage" after experiencing betrayal from the other side. The irony is almost poetic—play by your own rules long enough, and eventually those rules will bite you back. The couple has since walked back earlier comments about their supposed 'open marriage,' with Bartlett telling the Daily Mail: "It's funny, the press will pick up on something and make more of it than it was." She acknowledged that over 75 years together, being occasionally attracted to others is simply 'abnormal' if you can't acknowledge it.
When asked directly if both had strayed, she confirmed: 'There have been times, yeah, both of us, on both sides.' The couple never formalized any arrangement—they just lived their lives, with Daniels sometimes away for a year at a time filming projects like 'St. Elsewhere,' where Bartlett also appeared. Despite the admitted infidelities and emotional devastation over the decades, Daniels, 99, and Bartlett remain together after weathering storms that would sink most marriages.
They adopted two sons, Robert and Michael, after losing their biological son William Jr. just 24 hours after his birth in 1961—roughly a decade into their union. Whether you view this as a testament to enduring love or a cautionary tale about the costs of dishonesty depends on how much grace you've got to spare for a 75-year-old marriage built on convenient blindness.
