Rock Hudson's 'true love' opens up about secret relationship

The true love of a cinema icon is opening up about their secret relationship.

During the '50s and '60s, actor Rock Hudson was one of Hollywood's top leading men, but some of his greatest acting was done for the public eye. Thirty years after he died of AIDs-related complications, Lee Garlington, a boyfriend of the closeted actor, told People Magazine how the two kept their relationship a secret.

The now 77-year-old said they only appeared at premieres together if they had a female date.

"Nobody in their right mind came out," Garlington said. "It was career suicide. We all pretended to be straight. Once we met Paul Newman and his wife [Joanne Woodward] at a premiere. He looked at me and smiled. I just read in his face – that maybe he knew Rock and I were together."

The two met in 1962 but kept their relationship a secret. Garlington says he would leave Hudson's home early in the morning hours and turn the engine off when driving past neighbor's homes.Hudson and Garlington split up in 1965, and by the time Hudson died in 1985 at the age of 59, the two had lost contact. It wasn't until Garlington read Hudson's posthumously published autobiography that he understood how much the late actor cared for him. In it, Hudson described Garlington as his "true love."

"I broke down and cried," Garlington told People. "I just lost it. He said his mother and I were the only people he ever loved. I had no idea I meant that much to him."

More from AOL
Chris Hemsworth confronts the 'Thor' wax figure that looks nothing like him
Long Island man may be first transgender male to appear on cover of Men's Health magazine
Watch: Harry Connick Jr. clashes with an 'Idol' contestant