Robin Williams’ first wife opens up about the actor’s infidelity

ROBIN Williams’ first wife Valerie Velardi has admitted she allowed the late comedian’s infidelity during their marriage.

Velardi, who was married to Williams from 1978 to 1988, opened up about the Good Will Hunting star in the new HBO documentary Come Inside My Mind, the New York Postreports.

“He loved women,” she said. “Absolutely loved women. And I got it.”

She added: “I understood and I wanted him to have that, but I also wanted him to come home.”

RELATED: The tragic events that broke comedy legend Robin Williams

Velardi said she met Williams at a bar in San Francisco in 1976 when he was relatively unknown. She said he asked her for a ride home.

“He was speaking French and I was teasing him and we had a kiss and I just knew I was going to see him again,” she said.

Velardi said she was finishing up her degree as their relationship grew.

“He was always looking for a connection or another character or an accent,” she said of Williams.

“He was shameless. He would just do it.”

The couple had one son together, Zachary “Zack” Pym but their marriage ended in 1988. She said they drifted apart after a while and she became less involved in his career that was growing.

“So we gave each other up,” Velardi said.

Williams suffered from dementia and commited suicide in August 2014, aged 63.

He received four Academy Award nominations and won for 1997’s Good Will Hunting.

The documentary offers an intimate look into Williams’ life and work on stage and onscreen.

A number of other celebrities are featured in the documentary including Billy Crystal and David Letterman.

This article first appeared in the New York Post and is republished with permission.