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In addition to daily letters, the pair burned up the phone lines — one long call cost a whopping $145! Bill also visited, teaching Elizabeth to drive and escorting her to parties. In June, he presented her with a diamond engagement ring and her mother, Sara, announced their intention to marry.

But Elizabeth’s life remained in Hollywood, and eventually her passion began to cool. “I’m sorry I didn’t answer your letter before this,” she wrote in October 1949, while working on A Place in the Sun. “But I’m so tired. Bill, I know you understand.”

The end came a month later when he came to California to be Elizabeth’s date for the wedding of actress Jane Powell — and accidentally learned that his fiancée had extended her contract with MGM for an additional two years. A bitter argument ensued and their engagement was called off. A little while later, Elizabeth’s mother wrote a note asking Bill not to contact her daughter again.

Elizabeth wed Nicky Hilton six months later, while Bill became a devout Christian. At age 50, he finally married and became a father of two. He didn’t contact Elizabeth until after his wife passed away in 2002.

However, when Elizabeth and Bill reconnected later in life, they found they didn’t have very much in common other than their shared memories of their young love. Still, Elizabeth was thrilled to have heard from Bill. “If I love someone,” she said, “I love them always.”

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