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Burt Reynolds was married twice in his life, but when it comes to children, he only had one kid, a son named Quinton, from his marriage to Loni Anderson. Reynolds and Anderson were married from 1988–1994 and only had one adopted son together. However, Anderson had a daughter named Deidra Hoffman, from her first marriage to Bruce Hasselbeck. Perhaps that’s why some may have wondered if Hoffman was Reynolds’ daughter.
In 2009, Hoffman was actually diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, according to Frostsnow, and, in an interview with Closer, Anderson opened up about the difficult news of her daughter’s health. Anderson said that, “You have to go forward and make the best you can of it. This is a message of hope. Even though we don’t have a cure yet, we’re learning more all the time.”
Further talking about the diagnosis, Anderson lamented that when she heard the MS diagnosis, “I fell apart. I mean, I didn’t want to fall apart in front of her because I knew she was struggling to just maintain herself, but it was very difficult to come to grips with.” Closer Weekly reported that Hoffman has two daughters of her own – McKenzie and Megan.
Anderson was only married to daughter Hoffman’s father, Hasselbeck, from 1964-1966. According to Biography, Anderson was only 18 years old and living in Minnesota when she married Hasselbeck. The two welcomed daughter Hoffman shortly after their wedding, but were married for such a short time. Anderson, after her split from Hasselbeck, took on a teaching position and got her education, while raising her daughter.
In an interview with People, Hoffman reflected on Reynolds’ presence during his marriage to her mother. Hoffman said, “At times when he was around, he was difficult. Mostly, he wasn’t around a lot.” In the past, Reynolds admittedly had substance-abuse issues.
And, when Reynolds’ marriage to Anderson broke up, Hoffman told People that, “This time, no matter what, she was going to do everything she could to make the marriage work, so Quinton wouldn’t have [a broken home] … My mother is warm, loving and devoted to Quinton. She spends a lot of time with him.”
According to USA Today, Reynolds has said that, “I’ve been very, very lucky through ups and downs. When you crash and burn, you have to pick yourself up and go on and hope to make up for it.”
Prior to marrying Loni Anderson, Reynolds was married to English actress Judi Carne, from 1963-1965. The couple had no children together.