Forbidden Love: Marilyn Monroe’s Sexual Affair With Acting Coach Natasha Lytess

Newly unearthed documents confirm that Marilyn Monroe had a romantic relationship with her German acting teacher, Natasha Lytess. The love affair lasted for about two of the seven years the couple lived together in an era when bisexuality was a serious taboo.

Marilyn Monroe once confessed sleeping with Lytess to her good friend actor Tom Jordan, saying, “Why not? Sex is something you do with people you like. What could be wrong with a natural act?”

Ironically, according to Lytess, Ms. Monroe didn’t even like sex.

An interview with Lytess was recently discovered where she describes the relationship. She says that Monroe was so insecure about herself that she was often dependent on Lytess’ support, even during filming.

“Very often, during close-ups I had to hold her hand. I had to support her every time. Thanks to the specificities of the close-up – which films only the head or the shoulders – I could hold her hand without being filmed by the camera. I had to do it to give her some courage.”

As for Marilyn Monroe’s facade as a overly sexual Hollywood starlet, Lytess says it wasn’t all it seemed to be.

“She was afraid of giving up all that had made her as Marilyn the sexiest girl: dresses, make-up, moves. Because she thought she had nothing to give except sex appeal. In fact it’s interesting because she really hated sex! Yes Marilyn. She hates sex. She was afraid of that. When someone told her, ‘You look sexy,’ she did not like that.”

Although Ms. Monroe admitted to a number of sexual relationships with other women, especially famous ladies like Joan Crawford and Marlene Dietrich, her relationship with Lytess seems to have been more emotional than anything else. It’s also not clear if Marilyn preferred men or women. She was officially married three times, but in the book Marilyn: The Passion and the paradox, Lois Banner wrote that Lytess and Marilyn also lived as husband and wife.

Despite the complexities and scandals of the young actress’ life, surprisingly there are still authors who have made up facts and controversy about Marilyn. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, the late biographer C. David Heymann made up or exaggerated many of the events surrounding Monroe’s death and her relationship with the Kennedys. Even though the scandalous exploits sold plenty of books, this story shows that reality may be far more interesting, and romantic, than fiction.

The most touching thing Marilyn said about Natasha Lytess might be this, “Miss Lytees made me free.”

[Image Credit: Milton H. Greene/Wikimedia Commons]