Kamal Ghorui
Ted Turner and Jane Fonda
Ted Turner may have built a global media empire, but to Jane Fonda he remained something more personal, her “favorite ex-husband.”The 88-year-old actress has often spoken warmly about Turner following his death on Wednesday at the age of 87, saying there was no bitterness between them despite their divorce more than two decades ago.Turner died surrounded by family after living with Lewy body dementia for around eight years, according to Turner Enterprises. His death marks the end of a life that reshaped modern television through the creation of CNN, the world’s first 24-hour news network.Fonda was married to Turner from 1991 to 2001 and has described their relationship as one built on affection and mutual respect, even after it ended. In 2008, she said she still had a “very good relationship” with him, adding, “Life is too short to be fighting.”Their bond could be seen in their shared work. Just months before his death, Fonda became emotional while speaking at an event for the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power and Potential, a charity they founded together in 1995.She said the organisation “never would have happened if it wasn’t for Ted.”“It was a very challenging time in Georgia. Had I not been with Ted, this was something, had he not stood by me with his love and support, we never would have survived,” Fonda said in November.She added: “Ted’s not here, but he is here in my heart and I know he is here in a lot of our hearts.”The couple married at Turner’s 8,100-acre property in Florida and even went on a honeymoon with their children from previous marriages. But cracks appeared early, and Fonda later wrote in her memoir that she learned he had been unfaithful shortly after the wedding. The marriage ended in 2001.Despite the separation, they continued appearing together at charity events. One year after the divorce, she greeted him publicly with, “My favorite ex-husband!”Turner’s life beyond his relationship with Fonda was defined by bold ambition. He founded CNN in 1980, transforming global news with round-the-clock coverage, and later built a media empire that included TNT, TCM and Cartoon Network. CNN’s influence surged during the Gulf War, when it broadcast live conflict coverage worldwide for the first time.He was also a major philanthropist and conservationist, founding the United Nations Foundation and becoming one of the largest private landowners in US.
