Diane Keaton and Al Pacino met on the set of The Godfather in the ’70s and began a years-long, on-and-off relationship. Keaton’s death has brought about discussions about this relationship. The Annie Hall actress played Kay Adams in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic crime film. In 1971, after wrapping the shoot for the film, Pacino and Keaton entered into a relationship.
They were quiet about their relationship, making it difficult to determine an exact timeline. It was believed that their affair lasted from 1971 to 1987 with gaps in between (via Hello! Magazine). The most significant of these gaps was between 1978 and 1981, when she entered into a relationship with her Reds co-star Warren Beatty.
According to Hello!, Keaton and Pacino were well over their relationship when The Godfather III was released in 1990. However, according to PEOPLE, Keaton and Pacino split only in 1990 when the latter refused to commit to marriage. It was reported that Keaton pushed for marriage and gave him an ultimatum.
They were rarely photographed together on a date when they were in a relationship. After their breakup, they barely communicated, despite living only a short distance apart in Beverly Hills. They only talked about their romance much later.
Keaton gushed about her former lover during a 2017 interview with PEOPLE. She shared that she developed a “crush” when they started working together. She further shared:
I was mad for him. Charming, hilarious, a nonstop talker. There was an aspect of him that was like a lost orphan, like this kind of crazy idiot savant. And oh, gorgeous!
Keaton also shared about her first meeting in 1971 in her 2011 memoir, Then Again. She shared that neither of them was romantically available when they first met. She wrote (via Hello!):
I don’t remember talking about the script. I remember his killer Roman nose sitting in the middle of what remains a remarkable face. It was too bad he wasn’t available, and neither was I. Even so, for the next twenty years Al Pacino would be my only recurring ‘unattainable great.’
While Pacino was reportedly the one who broke off the relationship after refusing to commit to marriage, he never stopped loving Keaton. They remained friends over the years and even showed up to support each other.
When Keaton was awarded the 45th AFI Life Achievement Award in 2017, the Scent of a Woman actor presented a tribute to Keaton. He praised her work and shared that working with her on The Godfather was a special part of his life.
He shared about Keaton, “I feel as if I have known you my whole life.” He also added, “You’re a great artist. I love you forever.” He also wrote about Keaton in his own 2024 memoir Sonny Boy, sharing:
But with Diane this time things were different. We always had a connection. She understood my read on things, and it felt comforting to have someone who got me. So I went after her. We hung out together, and after a couple of months we decided to get together. We found a tempo and a temperature that was right.
Keaton passed away on October 11 at the age of 78. A statement from her family shared that her death was caused by pneumonia (via PEOPLE). Keaton also twice battled skin cancer. She was also allegedly diagnosed with bulimia.
Why Al Pacino and Diane Keaton Never Got Married?
During an interview with Neil Fisher of The Times in 2017, Diane Keaton opened up about her relationship with Al Pacino. Fisher recounted the story in an article after the legendary actress’s death on Sunday. In her interview, she shared that she always thought she and Pacino would get married.
She shared that she didn’t even want the actor to propose. However, she didn’t regret not tying the knot, sharing that it was “a blessing for both of us.” She shared:
I didn’t even want him to propose. I just thought maybe he would marry me, eventually. I thought, ‘don’t even propose — let’s just do it.’ But that never happened, and that is a blessing for both of us. It would have been a nightmare for him.
Keaton shared that they both needed partners who would take care of each other, which made them go their separate ways. However, she added that it wasn’t her decision to split. She shared during the interview:
We’re very eccentric, he needed a woman that was going to take care of him, I needed a man who would take care of me … It was just very important that we left each other alone, said goodbye. But it wasn’t my choice.
In a 2013 interview with The Telegraph, she shared that she didn’t think Al Pacino was the love of her life. She shared, “Our relationship was absolutely wonderful in some ways, but is he the love of my life? No, not really.” She further clarified,
He was the love of that time of my life. Each man had a different decade.
She also told PEOPLE back in 2019 that she didn’t think it was “a good idea for me to have married.” Keaton had long-term relationships with actor Warren Beatty and filmmaker Woody Allen. However, she never married any of them. She welcomed two children through adoption, daughter Dexter, 29, and son Duke, 25.
Interestingly, Pacino was also not ready for a marriage with Keaton. He revealed in his memoir Sonny Boy that there was only one person who came close to tying the knot with him, and it wasn’t Keaton (via PEOPLE). Pacino met actress Kathleen Quinlan during the shoot of Scarface and described her as “my comfort” amid the difficult filming of the movie.
He shared that it was “the closest I’ve ever come to getting married.” However, Pacino was always scared of getting married and having a wife. He shared in his memoir:
But I’ve always shied away from marriage. I guess I didn’t see how it would help anything. I just wanted to avoid what I thought, at the time, was the inevitable: an entrance to the pain train.
However, he shared that it was a difficult decision, especially with Quinlan. He shared that “it wasn’t easy to say no to marriage with a woman I love.” He added that “it hurt when she left, and I carried the hurt with me for years.”
Pacino famously dated actresses like Jill Clayburgh and Tuesday Weld. He also had kids with acting coach Jan Tarrant, ex Beverly D’Angelo, and producer Noor Alfallah.
Al Pacino Calls Diane Keaton His Partner in His Tribute
A week after Diane Keaton’s death, Al Pacino broke his silence and shared a heartfelt tribute to his co-star. He called Keaton his “partner” and shared that she “influenced the direction of my life” (via Deadline). He shared that he was shaken by the news of her death. He shared:
When I first heard the news, I was shaken. Diane was my partner, my friend, someone who brought me happiness and on more than one occasion influenced the direction of my life. Though over 30 years has past since we were together, the memories remain vivid, and with her passing, they have returned with a force that is both painful and moving.
He spoke highly of his co-star, sharing, “She lived without limits, and everything she touched carried her unmistakable energy.” He shared that she “opened doors for others” and “inspired generations.” He also added that she “embodied a once-in-a-lifetime gift that radiated through her work and her life.” He concluded, “She could fly — and in my heart, she always will.”
Earlier, a friend of Pacino told The Daily Mail that he would forever regret not marrying Keaton. The friend shared on Pacino’s behalf, “[Pacino] will forever regret he didn’t make his move when he had the chance.”
The 85-year-old actor believed for years after splitting up with Keaton that it was never too late for another go at their relationship. The source shared, “For years after he and Diane split, Al used to say, ‘If it’s meant to be, it’s never too late for a do-over.’ But sadly, now it is.” The source also claimed that Keaton was the love of his life.
What do you think of Al Pacino and Diane Keaton’s relationship? Let us know in the comments below!
