The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Whispers of the Story 

Evelyn Hugo, a successful film star, decides to tell her story. How she rose to fame, the sacrifices made, the dark secrets she kept, her regrets, and her passions. There is only one criterion. She wants to be presented as the woman she really was, not a romanticised version of her.

She used people, manipulated them, often thought only about her career, but she also loved intensely. That’s why she was married seven times, right? Well, sometimes a marriage has nothing to do with love.

Review of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I must admit, this novel has appeared in my feed many times until finally I put it on my TBR. And almost two years passed until I actually got the book in my house. And finally I started reading it one evening, thinking I would read a little before bed. I was extremely wrong. I stayed up reading it, and the next day I finished it. It has everything I love in a novel. A strong female lead who has many flaws, an extraordinary life, a perfect complementary man next to her, a mystery, a love story, and loads of action. I just couldn’t put it down.

Evelyn Hugo is a woman who knows what she wants and she goes out and gets it without thinking much. She realises men are attracted by her physical appearance so she used that to get to Hollywood. Did she like it? No. Did she regret it? No. Did she think much about it? No, not even in her old age. She knows exactly the difference between sex, lust, and love. She owned her sexuality and her actions, she knew the reason why she did it, she never changed her mind. She was a very complicated person, with ups and downs, determined, and she owned what she did. Even her relationships show what a strong and complicated personality she had.

The Seven Husbands: A Journey Through Marriage and Men

Her many marriages each showed a different side of men and a different stage in her life. Her first husband, Ernie, was just a means to end up in Hollywood. Yes, she manipulated him and made him see a version of herself that wasn’t real. After she got what she wanted, she tossed him away. Ernie was the man who could not see the potential his wife had and also the man who gave up easily.

The second husband, Don, showed her what passion is, but also the dark side of a man who is frustrated with his life and becomes violent. He brought her more fame because they starred in lots of films together, but also almost ruined her career after their divorce, proving again that in Hollywood a man was more important than a woman. She rose again despite all this, and years later when they were part of the same project again, all that she felt for him, love and hate, was reduced to nothing.

Husbands number three and four were just a means to an end and to change the narrative in the press about her. Whilst her marriage of several hours with a rockstar was to hide her real relationship, her next husband Rex was just a PR stunt. They both were beautiful and famous, so they knew that making films together would bring them loads of fame. That marriage was like a partnership.

Her next marriage with Harry was the best one, she was married to her best friend, had a daughter and she was free to love the person she wanted. She loved Harry enormously and the feeling was mutual, but the real love of both of them was in the other lavender marriage. You see, Celia was married too, and her husband was the love of Harry’s life, whilst Celia was the love of Evelyn’s life. Harry and Evelyn understood each other at a more intimate level than many husbands and wives. I admit that I would have wanted to read how they managed to have a girl, just to make it more real, but apparently with Harry there was no intimacy described, I think Taylor Jenkins Reid wanted to keep their love…innocent? Pure? I don’t know what word to use, but I feel like it’s okay to talk about Evelyn being sexually active with men and women, just not with Harry. When Harry died it was a very emotional scene. Their final moment together reveals just how much she loves him. I admit I was crying hard at the whole scene.

Max Girard, husband number six, was the kind of man who would become obsessed by a diamond but once it is in his possession the shine fades. He wanted her for years, he loved her passionately, turning it even into an obsession, but once she was his wife, she was the trophy he wanted and paraded on his arm at events. He cared more about his image than anything. Robert Jamison, the seventh husband, had the role of the man who was a father. He was a front for her relationship with his sister and was the continuation of the father figure for her daughter. They were not in love but had a certain respect for each other.

If you want you can look at all these relationships like a journey of emotions related to men and marriage that many women have. First you have the man just for the sake of having one, then you have an intense passion that is nothing when the sexual attraction fades and the dark truth comes to light. Afterwards come other relationships, not because they mean a lot, but because you feel constrained to go out there with a man. Then comes the real love, the mature love that changes you, completes you and is your partner, your soul mate, your confidant, your best friend. Some women have another fleeting moment of passion that is very short and then becomes a disappointment. When you’re old and grey you have a comfortable partner. There is no love there, either it never was if it is a partnership formed in old age, or the love dissipated. But you have understanding and peace. Some women find these stages in only one man, some in three men, some in seven men. Some find peace alone or with another woman.

The Real Love Story: Evelyn and Celia

Now let’s get to the main idea. Evelyn Hugo was bisexual. That is for sure. Taylor Jenkins Reid portrayed beautifully the idea that back in the day people believed that if you like a woman you’re a lesbian, the notion of bisexuality did not exist yet so people like Evelyn were confused about their identity. They did not tick any boxes. Also another genius idea of Taylor’s is to trick us that the main subject is her relationships with the men in her life, including through the title, just for the love of her life to be a woman.

Evelyn loved Celia in ways that cannot be described, nor understood by many. Was it a good relationship? I would not say so. Was it real? Yes. They were young when they met and it took them some time to get together, especially since, up until spending time with Celia, Evelyn was straight as an arrow. Their relationship was long but tumultuous. Yes it was romantic how they always got back together, but let’s not romanticise it.

For Evelyn, her career came first, her relationship with Celia a close second. So Evelyn did not want to jeopardise her career. If that means that from time to time she will have to show herself on the arm of a man, sure, she will do it. Not only did she understand what people in Hollywood expect from her, she played it so well. She manipulated a man and slept with him just so nobody would suspect her relationship with Celia. When she and Harry decided to have a child conceived in the old fashioned way, she did not have a problem. Evelyn knew very well the distinction between sex and love. For her sometimes sex was just a means to get something.

Celia on the other hand, was quite possessive. She needed Evelyn to belong to her completely and it didn’t matter that both their careers could be ruined if anyone found out about them. Celia was like a spoiled brat in this instance. Now don’t get me wrong, I do not condone cheating, but in their circumstances I understand. I know many will not understand, but love is not like in Hallmark films and sometimes sacrifices need to be made. I think it is a nuanced thing. But in the end they lived their love and were together up until Celia died.

Monique’s story shows a different aspect of the society in those times. It shows that sometimes men who were gay were good husbands and fathers. Sometimes the wives didn’t even suspect. Sometimes they had to make a tough decision of choosing their family even if that meant giving up the love of their lives. Unfortunately it is still a decision some make today. Taylor Jenkins Reid did a wonderful job portraying the secret life of gay people, showing love stories that happened in secret, the lengths people went to protect their image and the love stories that never got to be. One rumour could destroy a career, one picture could ruin a person. But also there was a distinction in Hollywood between men and women.

Another important part of Monique’s story is her divorce. She met a man, fell in love and quickly got married. But they did not discuss their future, so when the future became present, she had to make a choice. Either she would follow her husband and lose the career she dreamed of and her identity in the process or get a divorce. Talking with Evelyn made her decision much easier, as she discovered a new way of looking at her marriage. Again, this is a controversial subject, I do not want to be misunderstood, I am a firm believer that when you decide to get married you should do so thinking it is for life. I am also a firm believer that a marriage should take place after years of relationship, just to make sure you know the person next to you and have the same goals in life. But I have seen other cases in which marriage comes very quickly in a relationship and ends just as quickly when people actually get to know each other.

Final Thoughts

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a novel about really tough subjects in the second half of the 20th century Hollywood. It touches on gay relationships, interracial relationships, relationships in general and the position of women in that society. Evelyn Hugo is a complex woman, though, sometimes without morals who only looks to the future, not the past. She lived intensely, she loved intensely and she manipulated people around her intensely. Make no mistake, Evelyn Hugo was not a good woman, but she was a real woman.

She made some things that I would never be able to do, mainly because I have strong morals and I try to not hurt people’s feelings. Maybe that’s why I like her so much, because she has the boldness to do what I wouldn’t do.

It is a complicated novel that will give you a new perspective on life in Hollywood. Unfortunately some things depicted here are still happening today, just look at the Me Too movement, the Epstein files, P Diddy, and all the PR relationships that exist in Hollywood. It also shows that the people we admire in films are just as human as us, with ups and downs and with loads of secrets. We need to learn not to romanticise them so much but to understand that they are complex human beings.

This book absolutely deserved its 10 out of 10. It made me cry, it made me think, and it made me fall in love with a deeply flawed woman who lived life on her own terms. If you haven’t read it yet, what are you waiting for?

Rating: 10 out of 10. A masterpiece about love, identity, and the price of fame.

Happy reading!