Burt Reynolds' Brutal Confession Revealed After Loni Anderson's Death: 'I Knew She Was Going to Cry' About Our Divorce

Burt Reynolds' post-divorce confessions about ex-wife Loni Anderson have resurfaced following her death at age 79.

The Smokey and the Bandit actor — who passed away at age 82 in 2018 — reflected on his emotional breakup from the WKRP in Cincinnati actress during a 1993 interview, shortly after filing to end his and Anderson's 5-year marriage.

"Divorcing Loni was the toughest decision I ever had to make. There's no easy way to tell someone that it's over after 11.5 years, especially if she's someone you still love. I knew she was going to cry. And she did. There were tears in my eyes too," Reynolds admitted, recalling how he sat Anderson "down in the bedroom" of their Jupiter, Fla., home to inform her he "wanted out of the marriage."

"We’ve always been truthful with each other. I told her I thought we were moving in different directions and that we’d be better off apart," the All Dogs Go to Heaven star confessed more than three decades ago. "Loni was surprised. She cried. My eyes also filled with tears."

Reynolds said Anderson "handled the news like the lady she is," noting they didn't "yell or throw things," but instead "sat quietly and discussed the paths our lives were taking."

The Deliverance star shared how the "hardest thing was telling our little son," Quinton Anderson Reynolds, now 36.

"I saw down with Quinton in his room and told him Mommy and Daddy loved each other but couldn’t be together. Then I gave him a big hug and told him everything would be all right," Reynolds recalled. "My son comes first in my life, and Loni and I will do anything to protect him and ensure he has a happy childhood. We intend to share custody."

While The Longest Yard actor was the one to end his and Anderson's relationship, Reynolds still dealt with sadness surrounding their split.

"After Loni flew to our California home with [Quinton], the Florida house was a lonely place. Thank God I had work with a deadline — editing my new CBS-TV movie, The Man From Left Field — to keep my mind occupied," he mentioned. "I do have my happy memories of our time together like the vacation Loni and I spent with Quinton at our mountain home in North Carolina. I’m grateful to Loni for supporting me through the rough times and for being a wonderful mother to our son."

Anderson's reaction to her split from Reynolds was also revealed in an interview with the National Enquirer in 1993.

"I’m really nervous, but I'm just glad it's over. I don't want to cry anymore," she stated.

According to the news outlet, Anderson told her son's nanny Sybil McCrorie while on their flight back to L.A. that she "knows this is best for all of us," but it was "harder than I thought it would be."

Anderson and her ex-husband Bruce Hasselberg's daughter, Deidra Hoffman, felt similarly shocked by the situation, informing the newspaper: "To tell you the truth, I never saw this coming. I’m not sure Mom did either."

"Mom and I have been spending a lot of time tougher and we’ve talked on the phone at least once a week. She seemed so happy, I can’t believe her marriage is over," Hoffman concluded.