Her heart is broken, And its a surprise, Nicollette
Sheridan is usually the one who breaks hearts. She sits huddled
on a green lounge chair on the patio of her exquisitely decorated
Bel-Air house, looking beautiful, without a touch of makeup.
To an outsider, she has everything youth, beauty, fame wealth.
Shes a princess in a Hollywood paradise and yet Sheridan herself
doesnt feel that way. For the past three months, except for
working on the NBC movie A Time To Heal, shes been held up in
this palatial prison wondering what went wrong in her love affair
with Michael Bolton.
Its been a really down period, she says. Three months ago,
Michael and I split up. I spent a lot of time alone. It was
a time to reflect. I had to look at me life....It was painful.
This is certainly not the kind of conversation you would expect
from Nicollette Sheridan. On Knots Landing, in which she plays
petulant vixen Paige Matheson for seven years, she was called
The Brat, for speaking her mind and getting away with it. But
its her rogue reputation with men that follows her everywhere.
Shes known for lining up lovers like dominoes, then toppling
them over. In the past few years shes been linked with actor
John Ritter, Knots Landings Joey Gian, musician Roger Wilson,
and movie mogul Jon Peters. In 1991 she married L.A. Law heartthrob
Harry Hamlin, then left him for Bolton.
As if her real life werent steamy enough, Sheridan is the subject
of endless tabloid speculation. One charged that she was dating
Tori Spellings boyfriend, Nicholas Savalas. Hes my [half-] brother!
she says. They hooked my up with my own brother. You cant win.
Off-camera, Sheridan has always affected a tough, wisecracking
persona. shes a Hollywood heartbreaker who used to go off-road
biking and dancing on table tops. But sitting here in a pair
of jeans and a white T-shirt, shes softer than anyone would
imagine.
They just dont get it, says pal Jackie Collins, who met Sheridan
when she starred in Collins TV miniseries Lucky/Chances. Its
Nicollette the body, the blonde, and the boys. Thats all they
see. Theyre wrong. Nicollette is an old soul who is very wise,
very smart, and very nurturing of her friends.
Sheridan has always hidden behind her brazen image. It was
easier to be a bad girl with a broken heart. Throughout the
years, I have really sort of laid low and kept to myself, she
says. And, of course, therefore I have been picked on a lot,
and people could fabricate whatever they felt like saying about
me. Now, she wants to explain herself and set the record straight.
This week, Sheridan is taking the biggest risk of her career
when she appears as a woman who suffers a stroke during childbirth
and has to reevaluate her life, in A Time to Heal. But in just
a few hours, she will fly to Japan, where Bolton is touring,
to try to put back together the pieces of her broken heart.
I love him very much, she wails, twirling her blond ponytail
and looking very much like a love-struck teenager. You know
how they say that opposites attract. Well, Harry and I are very
much alike. And we are struggling to have the ultimate relationship.
These past few months have been her own time to heal. She and
Bolton have talked, theyve learned from their mistakes, and
theyre trying again.
Sheridan met Bolton in 1991. Hamlin was away and she went to
a party with her closest friends, sax man Kenny G and his wife,
Lyndie. Michael was so funny, she says, remembering that meeting.
He makes me laugh more than anyone else I ever met.
It wasnt, she insists, love at first sight. We werent dating
when the press said we were having a relationship. It started
off very slowly, but we did start dating soon after my split.
She remembers her first trip on the road with Bolton. I stood
in the wings, she says. I watched him in awe. I couldnt sing
to save my life, so its incredible to see how he puts out so
much emotion. I love watching him sing. And I love the fact
that were not both actors and that he is successful in this
field.
She quickly learned how successful. Wherever he goes, he causes
a ruckus she doesnt. At first, it was difficult. Women freak
out when they see him, she says. They just freak out. I can
go to the grocery store, to the movies, or walk my dog in the
park. Its getting harder and herder for him to do anything like
that. I definitely dont create the kind of chaos he does.
Is it threatening No, she says. I dont feel threatened. Just
scared.
Mutual friends try to explain the Bolton-Sheridan attraction.
I think theyre perfect together, says Collins. He has a very
dry sense of humor, and he really cares about her- and not just
in a sexual way. He wants to look after her, hes concerned for
her, he wants the best for her.
So what went wrong in the first round of their relationship
Its difficult, Sheridan says. Long distance is difficult. And
were difficult. Were both very strong and very demanding. Were
both Type A personalities.
Whatever the initial attraction, whenever it officially began,
Sheridans passion for Bolton quickly soured her marriage to
Hamiln. he is still scarred from the breakup, which friends
insist blindsided and traumatized him. It was just cheap, Hamlin
told TV Guide. I didnt want to be involved with that. I was
very much in love.
Sheridan doesnt want to talk about Hamlin. We are trying to
work on our friendship, she says, and we agreed not to talk
about out marriage. When she learns hes discussed her, shes
shocked, then angry.
The breakup didnt come out of the left field, she insists.
We had been in therapy for a year. We were growing apart. It
wasnt due to any involvement with anybody else. It was our own
problems that were insurmountable.
One of the problems, say friends, was their age difference
- he was 40 when they split, she just 28. The tabloids suggested
that Sheridan left Hamlin because he was dull.
She leans forward, clearly uncomfortable. This is dangerous
territory, she says. I would say that he is much more low-key
than I am. I think its easier for me to have a sense of humor
about myself than it is for him. And its a little more personable
and gregarious...But that is definitely all I am going to say.
Copyright KnotsLanding.Net 2003
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