Tom Hank’s wife, Rita Wilson, recently spilled the tea: Hanks turned down When Harry Met Sally because he was “very happy to be not married.” Let’s set the stage. It was the late ’80s, and Hanks was fresh off his divorce from Samantha Lewes, his college sweetheart.
Instead of wallowing in heartbreak, he was celebrating freedom like it was a national holiday. Wilson explained on the Table for Two With Bruce Bozzi podcast, “He turned it down because he was going through a divorce, and he was very happy to be not married. He could not understand that a person going through a divorce would have anything other than just like, ‘I’m so happy.’”
The role of Harry Burns—lonely, brooding, freshly divorced—was a hard pass for Hanks, who couldn’t relate. Enter Billy Crystal, who swooped in and turned the part into rom-com magic alongside Meg Ryan. The chemistry? Legendary. The diner scene? Iconic. Hanks, meanwhile, was busy basking in his newlywed bliss with Wilson. They tied the knot in 1988 after meeting on the set of Volunteers.
But let’s talk about that script. While Tom skipped it, Wilson was all in. “I loved the script. I read it when it came in, and I flipped out,” she said. Her fandom for Nora Ephron—who penned When Harry Met Sally—paid off. Not too long after, Wilson landed an audition for Sleepless in Seattle, where Hanks and Ryan would finally share the screen.
And hey, no hard feelings. Billy Crystal crushed the role, and When Harry Met Sally became a genre-defining masterpiece. Hanks and Ryan still got their rom-com trifecta with Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail.
Funny how things work out, no? Hanks’ “happily divorced” vibe may not have been Harry material, but it was the perfect plot twist in his own life. Instead of playing heartbroken, he got the real-life rom-com, complete with meet-cute, second chances, and happily ever after.
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