Sally Field’s worst screen kiss came with an unexpectedly personal twist. Asked to name the costar behind it, the Hollywood legend hesitated before revealing a name tied to one of her most famous romances. What began as a playful television question quickly opened the door to an uncomfortable memory, bringing back a relationship that had once appeared glamorous to the public but was remembered very differently by Field.
During a December 2022 appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Sally Field was asked to identify her least favorite on-screen kissing partner. The question seemed harmless at first, but Field immediately hesitated. She appeared to consider whether she really wanted to reveal the answer before finally deciding to name the actor.
“Shall I really name names here?” she asked before identifying Burt Reynolds.
The answer surprised host Andy Cohen, especially because Reynolds was not simply another actor Field had shared a scene with. The two had been one of Hollywood’s most recognizable couples, and their relationship had become closely associated with the image of glamorous movie-star romance.
Field’s explanation for choosing Reynolds, however, was far less romantic. She described the kiss as unpleasant because there had been too much “drooling.” The blunt answer turned what might have been an ordinary celebrity trivia question into an unexpectedly revealing moment.
Cohen was particularly surprised by the revelation because Field and Reynolds had also dated in real life. Their relationship began after they met while working together on Smokey and the Bandit in 1977. Their chemistry on screen quickly became part of the film’s appeal, and their off-screen romance added another layer to the public fascination surrounding the pair.
For audiences at the time, Field and Reynolds seemed like a classic Hollywood couple. They were both major stars, they shared undeniable screen chemistry, and their relationship became a familiar part of entertainment coverage. But behind the photographs, interviews, and glamorous appearances was a relationship that Field later remembered in much more complicated terms.
The couple remained together for roughly five years. Their romance eventually ended, but the public interest in their relationship never completely disappeared. Years later, Reynolds continued to speak about Field and their time together, sometimes remembering their relationship with considerable affection.
Field, however, offered a different perspective.
Speaking to Variety in March 2022, she explained that she and Reynolds had not spoken during the final 30 years of his life. That detail offered a striking contrast to the romantic image that had surrounded them during their years together.
Reynolds died in 2018, but before his death he had spoken about Field and expressed regret about aspects of their relationship. His memories sometimes presented their romance in a more idealized way, as though it represented one of the great love stories of his life.
Field did not share that same version of the past.
For her, the relationship had involved difficulties that were not visible to the audience. The chemistry that viewers saw on screen did not necessarily reflect what was happening privately. Her later comments suggested that the public image of the couple and her personal experience of the relationship were two very different things.
That contrast makes the television moment even more interesting. What began as a funny question about an awkward movie kiss suddenly carried the weight of a much deeper history.
Field’s hesitation before saying Reynolds’ name also gave the moment an unmistakably personal quality. She appeared to understand that naming him would do more than answer a question about an acting scene. It would bring an old relationship back into the conversation and invite people to reconsider the romance they thought they knew.
The answer also demonstrated how differently actors can remember the same relationship. To fans, Field and Reynolds represented an iconic Hollywood pairing. Their films captured a playful chemistry that audiences enjoyed, and their romance became part of their celebrity identities.
But an on-screen connection does not tell the whole story of a private relationship.
Field’s later reflections offered a sobering distinction between Hollywood mythology and personal reality. A relationship can look exciting, passionate, and glamorous from the outside while being complicated or painful for the people actually living through it.
That is what made her answer so memorable. She was not simply criticizing a bad screen kiss. She was speaking about an actor who had once been both her professional costar and romantic partner, someone whose memory remained connected to a complicated chapter of her life.
The revelation about the kiss became a small but revealing glimpse into that larger history. Behind the famous scenes, celebrity photographs, and stories of Hollywood romance was a relationship that Field ultimately chose to remember on her own terms.
In the end, the most surprising part of the story may not have been her answer about the kiss. It was the reminder that the version of a celebrity relationship seen by millions of people is often only a fraction of the truth.
For audiences, Sally Field and Burt Reynolds remain associated with the movies they made together and the chemistry they displayed on screen. For Field, however, the memories were far more complicated. Her story shows that even the most celebrated Hollywood romances can look completely different when remembered by the people who actually lived them.