Clark Gable & Carole Lombard’s Secret Wedding That Shocked Hollywood

Clark Gable and Carole Lombard’s marriage on March 29, 1939, was shrouded in secrecy, and it has always carried a certain mystique, partly because of how unexpectedly it came together and how quickly it changed both of their lives. When Lombard and Gable first worked together on No Man of Her Own in 1932, there was no sign of romantic interest. Both were married, and Lombard later recalled that despite filming romantic scenes, she “never got any kind of tremble out of him at all.”

Their story really begins four years later, at a Hollywood party in 1936. This time, the chemistry was immediate, and by most accounts, undeniable. According to reports from the period, the two spent much of the evening together, even sharing a “close dance” before leaving the event, despite the complicated fact that Gable was still legally married. From that night forward, they were rarely apart, with one account noting that the longest they went without seeing each other was just six days.