Burt Reynolds says he's loved Sally Field since she was 7 (original) (raw)

In an odd turn, the actor also commented on host Hoda Kotb's lips

Published on March 15, 2018 12:04PM EDT

Burt Reynolds, reflecting on his legendary career on the silver screen with Today's Hoda Kotb, spoke more about the true "love of his life," Sally Field, in an interview that ended on an unusual note.

"You're naughty, you really are," Reynolds, 82, told Kotb when she asked the question. "I'm dead in the water no mater what I say. Well, she was 7 when I fell in love with her. She stayed 7 for about 11 years. I would say, Sally."

Reynolds and Field met while filming 1977's Smokey and the Bandit, and they dated for five years in the 1980s. He's been speaking publicly about the one who got away, notably in 2015 when he told Vanity Fair, "I miss her terribly. Even now, it's hard on me. I don't know why I was so stupid. Men are like that, you know. You find the perfect person, and then you do everything you can to screw it up."

The star of The Last Movie Star echoed some of these notions with Kotb, saying, "I wanted her really bad for Smokey. And they said, 'Well, she's not sexy,' and I said, 'You don't get it. Talent is sexy and she's got that.'"

Field has responded to these statements of grandeur in the past. To Entertainment Weekly and PEOPLE editorial director Jess Cagle, she remarked simply, "Well, yeah."

Where Reynolds' interview on Thursday morning became a bit odd was at the end when the actor made a remark about Kotb's lips. "I am so proud of you for not having your lips larger," he remarked.

"Okay. Alright, Burt," she laughed.

Watch the interview above.