Dame Elizabeth Taylor—a woman we all love and respect—has accepted an engagement ring from 49 year-old Jason Winters, a talent manager whose clients include Janet Jackson. This will be her 9th trip down the aisle, but the first one she’ll take in a wheelchair. To be fair, two of those marriages were to the same man, Richard Burton, but this one will nonetheless tie her with Zsa Zsa Gabor for the most marriages for a celebrity. As non-celebrities go, there is, apparently, a woman out there who has been married 23 times, but she’s not famous. Taylor’s last marriage, to the mullet-maned construction worker Larry Fortensky, ended in 1996.
Liz Prepares for Luck Number 9
At age 78, Liz Taylor has gone beyond the existing terminology available for an older woman dating a younger man. She is far from a Cougar, Leopard, Jaguar, and even beyond the over-55 accepted “Snow Leopardâ€. But she doesn’t seem to care. There appears to be genuine affection between the former actress and her fiancé. At a certain point, it is probably more about companionship than anything else. Like when there was that giant kerfuffle over Martha Raye marrying the much younger Mark Harris. At age 75, Raye wasn’t looking for an acrobatic love life. She wanted someone to be with her and make her laugh.
And now there are rumors that the Liz Taylor/Jason Winters union has even more in common with the Martha Raye/Mark Harris marriage. Some sources have claimed that Winters is gay. Mark Harris very clearly was. He made Liberace look conservative. If Winters is, it wouldn’t be a tremendous surprise or anything. Liz Taylor has been a long-time defender of gay rights and fundraiser for AmfAR. Liz Taylor practically IS AmfAR, holding the title of Founding National Chairman. But whether or not Winters is batting for the other team, again, it really doesn’t matter. Elizabeth Taylor has had numerous medical problems and Jason Winters has stayed by her side for years to keep her smiling. She has said that he is “one of the most wonderful men I’ve ever known, that’s why I love him.â€Â If he’s swinging from the other side of the plate, that just means he’ll need less direction when she wants him to pick her up some new jewelry. And Liz loves her diamonds.
At this point, with 8 previous weddings under her belt, Dame Liz is probably going to keep this one small. Ever aware of how she looks, she has to know that it would be less dramatic to be pushed down the aisle. Plus, after a while, don’t these things just kind of get old? It’s not like she needs a big guest list in hopes of getting a new George Foreman Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Machine. She’s Elizabeth Taylor.
Now when people say, “She’s been married more times that Elizabeth Taylorâ€, it’s an ever higher benchmark. Gives us all something to aspire to.