{"id":2624,"date":"2026-05-18T22:46:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T22:46:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/bonnie-bartlett-rejected-william-daniels-with-three-brutal-words-before-embarking-on-75-year-marriage\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T22:46:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T22:46:49","slug":"bonnie-bartlett-rejected-william-daniels-with-three-brutal-words-before-embarking-on-75-year-marriage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/bonnie-bartlett-rejected-william-daniels-with-three-brutal-words-before-embarking-on-75-year-marriage\/","title":{"rendered":"Bonnie Bartlett rejected William Daniels with three brutal words before embarking on 75-year marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2026\/05\/128155550.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t quite love at first sight for Bonnie Bartlett and William Daniels.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cBoy Meets World\u201d alum revealed his now-wife\u2019s brutal rejection when he first asked her out for coffee in college: \u201cYou\u2019re too short.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The couple \u2014 who will be celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary next month \u2014 recalled their first meeting in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.com\/tvshowbiz\/article-15793313\/william-daniels-bonnie-bartlett-marriage-hollywood.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">interview with the Daily Mail<\/a> on Monday. <\/p>\n<p>Daniels first laid eyes on Bartlett while they both attended Northwestern University. He spotted her sitting in the back of their classroom while she read from a play.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Bonnie Bartlett brutally rejected her husband William Daniels (seen above in 1986) by telling him, \u201cYou\u2019re too short,\u201d when he first asked her out in college.  <span class=\"credit\">Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The couple (pictured at the NBC Affiliates Party in 1986) recalled their first meeting in an interview with the Daily Mail on Monday. <span class=\"credit\">Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m very good at the heavy stuff, and so what happened was that he was listening, and he didn\u2019t think that these actors were very good. And then he heard me,\u201d she\u00a0told the outlet, before Daniels gave his perspective of the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd I looked, and in the back of the room, there was this blonde, and I thought, \u2018Oh my goodness. She looks interesting,&#8217;\u201d the actor said.<\/p>\n<p>He waited for the class to file out and then gained the courage to ask \u2014 but was met by the harsh reaction.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Daniels first laid eyes on Bartlett while they both attended Northwestern University and were in the same class. <span class=\"credit\">NBCUniversal via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cAnd I looked, and in the back of the room, there was this blonde, and I thought, \u2018Oh my goodness. She looks interesting,&#8217;\u201d the actor said. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>But Bartlett \u2014 who was a half inch shorter than Daniels at the time \u2014 quickly overcame any fears about Daniels\u2019 height.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t mean it as an insult,\u201d she insisted. \u201cI just meant, \u2018Oh, no, no, you\u2019re too short. I\u2019m\u00a0too tall for you.\u2019 And he said, \u2018Oh, come on,\u2019 and we\u2019ve been together ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>By the way they talk about each other 75 years later, it\u2019s hard to picture them starting out on the wrong foot.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>At the end of the class he asked her out and was met with her harsh answer, but her hesitancy didn\u2019t last for long. <span class=\"credit\">William Daniels\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Now, they have been married for nearly 75 years. <span class=\"credit\">William Daniels\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be with anyone else in my life than this woman sitting next to me,\u201d Daniels, 99, gushed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt just happened,\u201d Bartlett, 96, added. \u201cYou don\u2019t plan for it. You really don\u2019t plan for it. I\u2019m not at all romantic or anything like that. I\u2019m a big believer in today, you know? And then all of the sudden it\u2019s 75 years. It\u2019s kind of amazing, I must say.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is amazing, especially in our business,\u201d she noted, referring to the many divorces in Hollywood.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cI wouldn\u2019t be with anyone else in my life than this woman sitting next to me,\u201d Daniels gushed. <span class=\"credit\">William Daniels\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Bartlett (seen above with Daniels at the 1986 Emmys) noted that a long lasting love like there\u2019s is rare in Hollywood. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>During the interview, the couple also <a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/18\/celebrity-news\/william-daniels-99-and-wife-bonnie-bartlett-96-detail-rules-of-open-marriage\/\">clarified the rules of their \u201copen marriage.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s funny, the press will pick up on something and make more of it than it was,\u201d Bartlett prefaced.\u00a0\u201cThere was never any discussion as to what we were going to do, but in 75 years, the two of you together, you know, it would be abnormal if you \u2026 weren\u2019t attracted occasionally to other people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Bartlett added that, \u201cthere have been times, yeah, both of us, on both sides,\u201d which she wrote about in her\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/r.pagesixlink.com\/?btn_ref=org-282f0dd399864b44&amp;btn_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMiddle-Rainbow-daughter-managed-herself-ebook%2Fdp%2FB0CQ2LZLXT%3Ftag%3Dpagesix-20%26asc_refurl%3Dhttps%3A%2F%2Fpagesix.com%2F2026%2F05%2F18%2Fcelebrity-news%2Fwilliam-daniels-99-and-wife-bonnie-bartlett-96-detail-rules-of-open-marriage%2F%26asc_source%3Dweb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2023 memoir, \u201cMiddle of the Rainbow.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>However, they have had their ups and downs in their relationship and clarified their \u201copen marriage\u201d in the interview. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>\u201cWe never got unhinged, but our lives did go in different directions occasionally,\u201d she admitted <span class=\"credit\">William Daniels\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>However, they never outright discussed the arrangement. They each had their own respective affairs until Bartlett realized she \u201ccould no longer tolerate any kind of open marriage.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBill and I never sit down and make rules,\u201d she said. \u201cWe never sit down and talk about these things. We just don\u2019t. We just live our lives. And if he\u2019s away for a year, he\u2019s away for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur lives just went on, but we never got unhinged \u2026 We never got unhinged, but our lives did go in different directions occasionally.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Little House on the Prairie\u201d alum had\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2023\/01\/17\/wife-of-boy-meets-world-actor-william-daniels-details-open-marriage\/\">previously revealed<\/a>\u00a0that the two had an \u201copen marriage,\u201d which was \u201cvery painful\u201d and \u201cdidn\u2019t work well.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>The couple tied the knot on June 30, 1951 and have played husband and wife in several projects, as seen above in \u201cBoy Meets World.\u201d <span class=\"credit\">Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Ten years into their marriage, they welcomed a son who died 24 hours later. They went on to adopt two sons. <span class=\"credit\">Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cAnd it was a time when people were doing that,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt was at a time in New York when there was a lot of sex and a lot of people doing all kinds of things, you know \u2014 very free.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The couple tied the knot on June 30, 1951. Throughout their marriage, they played each other\u2019s spouses in three different projects, including\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2023\/04\/03\/william-daniels-boy-meets-world-co-stars-reunite-for-96th-birthday\/\">\u201cBoy Meets World\u201d<\/a>\u00a0and \u201cSt. Elsewhere.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ten years into their marriage, they welcomed son William Jr., who died 24 hours later. They went on to adopt two sons.<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/18\/celebrity-news\/william-daniels-99-and-wife-bonnie-bartlett-96-detail-rules-of-open-marriage\/#\"\/><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pagesix.com\/2026\/05\/18\/celebrity-news\/bonnie-bartlett-rejected-william-daniels-with-three-brutal-words-before-embarking-on-75-year-marriage\/\" target=\"_blank\">Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It wasn\u2019t quite love at first sight for Bonnie Bartlett and William Daniels. The \u201cBoy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/128155550.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2624"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2624\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/login9ja.com\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}