Paul Newman’s daughter Melissa Newman has written a new book, “Head Over Heels: Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman – A Love Affair in Words and Pictures.”
Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward’s daughter was rummaging through their attic at the family’s Westport, Connecticut, home when she made a surprising discovery.
“We’d gone through ripped bags,” the 62-year-old told Fox News Digital. “I remember right before one was about to be thrown out, I reached in – there were moths and dead mice everywhere… And I found the first 10 letters my dad ever wrote to my mom.”
“It was this close to being thrown away,” Melissa admitted.
The former actress is sharing an intimate look at her parent’s marriage in a new book, “Head Over Heels: Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman – A Love Affair in Words and Pictures.”
It features more than 100 photos – some never before seen – of the Hollywood power couple from over the years.
Newman died in 2008 at age 83. Woodward, 92, has Alzheimer’s and lives a private life at the property they shared.
“There [are] quotes from the letters in the book,” Melissa explained. “I would read the letters and just go, ‘Oh, this is so sweet. This should go in the book.’ And then I would be reading on, and then I’d go, ‘Ooh, Dad, I can’t put this in the book!’”
“I always say, ‘People, read the things that my dad wrote to my mom… [and] take notes, man,’” she shared. “This is how you woo somebody. And it’s just so obvious that he was just [hit] upside the head. He fell for her so hard.”
Newman met Woodward in 1953 when they were both understudies in the Broadway play “Picnic.” At the time, the actor was married to his first wife Jackie Witte.
“Women were throwing themselves at him,” said Melissa. “Meanwhile, my mom said, ‘God, it’s a good thing that Paul Newman is handsome, because he certainly can’t act!’”
But the pair’s mutual attraction for each other was undeniable. The father of three embarked on an affair with the actress.
Newman and Witte divorced in 1958, and he married Woodward that same year.
“It was like a freight train,” Melissa said about the affair. “It was sort of inexorable. Jackie was a wonderful person, but I think they were just escaping the Midwest. I’m not sure if it would’ve lasted. So I would say that my parents’ relationship started in a minor key with collateral damage.”
“My mother made sure that all the children from both sides got together every summer,” she recalled.
