Marlee Matlin Reveals What William Hurt Said to Her in Limo After Her Oscar Win: ‘I Was Stunned’

“When I found out that he didn’t win, my heart sank," says Matlin in the new book, '50 Oscar Nights.' Hurt had also been nominated for 'Children of a Lesser God'

Marlee Matlin’s historic Oscar win at just 21 was an unforgettable night — for all the wrong reasons.

At the 1987 Oscars, Matlin became the first deaf person to win an Oscar and the youngest Best Actress recipient for her work in Children of a Lesser God. She attended the ceremony with her co-star and then-boyfriend William Hurt, who was also nominated that evening for Best Actor. But as she reveals in Dave Karger’s new book 50 Oscar Nights (out Jan. 23), the evening spiraled after her name was called.

“Bill congratulated me when I got the award. After I won, I stopped to look at the monitor to see if he had won the Oscar that night,” recalls Matlin, 58 in the new book. “When I found out that he didn’t win, my heart sank. I was afraid to see how he was going to react later at home, the fact that I won and he didn’t.”

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When the couple left the show, things went downhill. “After the ceremony, Bill held my hand, and we found our limo. We got inside, sat down, and he was just staring at me. I could see him thinking. He was very quiet. And he said, 'So you have that little man there next to you. What makes you think you deserve it?' I looked at him like, What do you mean? And he said, 'A lot of people work a long time, especially the ones you were nominated with, for a lot of years to get what you got with one film.' "

Matlin continues: “I didn’t even dare to argue with him. I thought to myself, Is he right? I mean, he was. But was he not happy for me?”

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The two performers had long been separated by an age gap, having begun dating when Matlin was 19 years old and Hurt was 35. But that evening, “I was too stunned to talk,” says Matlin. “But it made me stronger. It just bounced off my back. It was my time. It was my night. And it was the beginning of my career. So f— off. I left him a few months afterward, on July Fourth.”

In 2010, Matlin alleged Hurt had also sexually assaulted her during their relationship in her memoir I’ll Scream Later, writing that Hurt attacked her while she was sleeping, “threw me on the bed, started ripping off his clothes and mine” and raped her.  

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Hurt issued a statement following the publication of her memoir, saying, “My own recollection is that we both apologized and both did a great deal to heal our lives. Of course, I did and do apologize for any pain I caused. And I know we both have grown. I wish Marlee and her family nothing but good.”

Following the Hurt’s death in 2022 at age 71, Matlin praised the star's career while speaking with Entertainment Tonight." “We’ve lost a really great actor and working with him on set in Children of a Lesser God will always be something I remember very fondly," she said. "He taught me a great deal as an actor and he was one-of-a-kind.”

Matlin returned to the Oscars stage 35 years after her win to join her CODA cast when the Apple TV+ film won Best Picture at the 2022 Oscars, and cheered as her co-star Troy Kotsur became the first deaf man to win an Academy Award.

For more on 50 Oscar Nights, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, out now.

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