Cybill Shepherd Revealed the Real Reason She & Bruce Willis Never Dated

"My temperature went up 10 degrees. That meant two things to me..."


Fans of the '80s series Moonlighting will never forget the chemistry between Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis, who played private detectives Maddie Hayes and David Addison, one of TV's most iconic will-they-won't-they couples. And, if you ask Shepherd, that chemistry was very real off-screen, too. The star has opened up over the years about her, at times, contentious relationship with Willis, and how their real-life tension translated to the screen.

But, while their chemistry helped make Moonlightingwhat it was, in a new interview, Shepherd revealed why she knew that, despite that connection, she could never actually date Willis. Read on to see what she had to say.

Basahin ito sa susunod:Will Smith Says This Co-Star Shut Him Down When He Tried to Date Her.

Shepherd knew that she couldn't give into their attraction.

Cybill Shepherd at
Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock

In a new interview with Extra,Shepherd was asked about Willis in light of his recent retirement from acting due to his aphasia diagnosis.

"I just have to say one thing about Bruce. No one else was ever considered for the part when he walked in the room," Shepherd said of Moonlighting. "My temperature went up 10 degrees. That meant two things to me: one, I was very attracted to him, two, I would never act on it, 'cause we were both very attracted to each other."

Shepherd added, "I will always love Bruce."

They did kiss—not in character—just once.

Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis at the 1987 Golden Globe Awards
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

In her 2000 book Cybill Disobedience (via the New York Post), Shepherd wrote about a time when she and Willis really did hook up. She said that at one point she asked, "Are we going to do something about this or what?" So, he came over to her place and, as she put it, "it wasn't long before we were passionately sucking face." But, they had second thoughts about taking things any further because they were still working together. "We never did finish what we started," she wrote.ae0fcc31ae342fd3a1346ebb1f342fcb

For more celebrity news delivered right to your inbox, Mag -sign up para sa aming pang -araw -araw na newsletter.

They had their dramatic moments.

Shepherd has said that she and Willis often got into it on the set of Moonlight.

"Oh yes, we had fights all the time," she said in an interview with the Television Academy Foundation. "And that was part of the preparation was that working up to it, you know, so it was real."

Similarly, sinabi niya Entertainment Weeklyin 2005, "I remember at one point in the show, it had gotten to where we just hated each other. It was a very volatile show anyway, but that's also what made it great."

Willis has said that he has "great memories" of the show.

Bruce Willis at the Jazz Foundation of America benefit concert Great Night in Harlem in 2019
lev radin / Shutterstock

In a 2012 interview with HuffPost, Willis looked back on his time making Moonlighting. While he didn't talk about Shepherd in particular, he had fond memories.

"I have a lot of good memories about it—a lot of great memories about it," he said. "There are all of those memories I have about the fun and frantic pace we were working at to get 10 pages every day, out of seven shooting days. That's one thing. The other thing is it was a huge quantum leap for me. I had just been doing theater in New York and I think I had done one TV role, on Miami Vice. And then I got this job in California and it was a huge leap. A very exciting time—just to be able to offered that kind of work and then get a job where you do it for five years."

Shepherd roasted Willis and their past.

Cybill Shepherd at the Roast of Bruce Willis in 2018
Comedy Central / YouTube

When a Comedy Central roast was held for Willis in 2018, Shepherd was one of the participants and she joked about their working relationship.

"Our characters on Moonlighting weren't much of a stretch," she said. "I played a former model, which I was. And he played an [expletive], which he is. Bruce and I were really attracted to each other, but familiarity can breed contempt, so we didn't act on it. Too bad. Because based on how much we ended up hating each other, the sex would have been incredible."

At the end, she added, as Willis laughed along, "Sure, our relationship was volatile and sometimes explosive, but in the end it was the perfect formula for success. I know we haven't had a conversation in 30 years, but we'll have something more important: residuals."

Basahin ito sa susunod:Jane Seymour Says She & This Co-Star Were Secretly "Madly in Love."


7 mga bagay na iniisip ng mga batang babae na mapabilib nila ang mga lalaki, ngunit hindi sila nakaka-impress
7 mga bagay na iniisip ng mga batang babae na mapabilib nila ang mga lalaki, ngunit hindi sila nakaka-impress
Ang isang bagay na ito ay maaaring mahulaan kung makakakuha ka ng diyabetis, sabi ng pag-aaral
Ang isang bagay na ito ay maaaring mahulaan kung makakakuha ka ng diyabetis, sabi ng pag-aaral
Habang nililinis ang beach pagkatapos ng Storm Eleanor, ang 8-taong-gulang na batang lalaki ay nakakahanap ng isang buhay-pagbabago kayamanan
Habang nililinis ang beach pagkatapos ng Storm Eleanor, ang 8-taong-gulang na batang lalaki ay nakakahanap ng isang buhay-pagbabago kayamanan