Both Hollywood and her most well-known ex-lover are deeply saddened by Diane Keaton’s passing. Speaking out now, Al Pacino discusses the one thing he wishes he had done differently.
A past filled with passion, heartache, and the one that escaped, a lifetime of memories. Al Pacino, the man who once won Diane Keaton’s heart, is now facing a reality he can no longer ignore as she makes her last bow at the age of 79.
The renowned actor, who is currently 85 years old, has finally spoken up. Pacino revealed the painful sorrow he has had for decades through a close friend; this remorse has resurfaced in the wake of Keaton’s death on October 11, 2025.
“Looking back, Al admits the love of his life was Diane,” the insider disclosed, adding that Pacino frequently referred to her as “an amazing woman.”
Missed Chances, Lingering Regrets
Despite a parade of lovers and a celebrated career, Pacino’s heart never truly left Keaton. His friend says, “I know he will forever regret he didn’t make his move when he had the chance.”
Years after they parted ways, the Oscar-winning actor reportedly still believed in second chances, often murmuring, “If it’s meant to be, it’s never too late for a do-over.” But time, as it cruelly does, ran out.
Pacino created a bicoastal life that is divided between New York and Los Angeles, where he purchased a house to be near his beloved children. He and Keaton resided in Beverly Hills, only a few miles away, for years, but they never communicated. The emotional detachment? Unfathomable.
When asked why he never reached out to Keaton again, the friend said Pacino responded simply, “There’s no need to talk with each other. We said everything that needed to be said at the time.”
The Goodbye That Shattered Her
In her 2011 memoir, “Then Again,” Keaton discussed her split from Pacino in a heartbreakingly honest manner. A double tragedy that would plague her for years, their romance ended just as her father, whom she loved, was dying of brain cancer.
Two months after her father’s death, during a therapy session, Pacino laid bare the truth. She said, “He never had any intention of marrying me.” With those words, the dream crumbled.
The actor never looked back as he strode into the scorching California sun. He took a plane to New York to visit the George Washington Bridge that same day. Instead of Keaton, Pacino was met at Snedens Landing by his devoted driver Luke and dog, Lucky.
Tokens of a Lost Love
Four extremely sentimental artifacts were all that were left behind from their years together:
- Eight pink slips from the Shangri-La Hotel (1987) reading, “Call from Al.”
- A page of sheet music for “All I Have to Do Is Dream” with “To Di” inscribed at the top and “Love Al” at the bottom.
- A birthday card, marked simply “Love Al.”
- And most heartbreaking of all—a handwritten letter dated December 1989.
The letter said, in part:
“Dear Di, I am feeling uncomfortably lonely more than I have in many, many moons. I don’t know why this is so. It’s perhaps being in a foreign country and not being able to speak the language; you could say that’s one of the reasons. But mainly it’s being away from you and what we have together.”
He came to the conclusion:
“Thank you for your note. It helped me. My thoughts are with you, and I think about you often. Love, Al.”
“I Love You, Forever”
When Pacino took the podium at the American Film Institute’s 2017 Life Achievement Award ceremony in Keaton’s honor, his voice broke with grief. He praised the actress as a wonderful artist there, in front of millions of people and Hollywood elite.
In addition, he made the uncommon and intensely private statement, “I love you, forever.”
Keaton, however, had already reconciled with their tense history. According to her memoir, she once offered Pacino the straightforward command,
“Marry me, or at least commit to the possibility.”
For a year, they rekindled, then unraveled once more, caught in a familiar rhythm of passion and collapse. She noted how Pacino never wanted to marry her, and how she never stopped insisting. Keaton wrote,
“I wanted more, lots of more. Tons. I wanted him to want me as much as I wanted him.”
A Lifelong Crush, a Dangerous Driver
Never one to back down from the unvarnished truth, Diane Keaton frequently reflected about her well-known former. She said in a 2017 article that she
“had a crush” on Pacino back in 1971, when they collaborated on “The Godfather.” She admitted:
“For me the ‘Godfathers,’ all three of them, were about one thing — Al. It was as simple as that.”
His “kinetic” energy and “killer Roman nose,” which she described as “long like a cucumber,” drew her in.
Their courtship in the beginning? Crazy. After teaching him how to drive, she became afraid as he kept pressing the gas pedal. They later made their way to Pacino’s house on the Hudson River, where they enjoyed intimate moments, giggles, and unadulterated bonding.
After they became a couple, she recalled, “I was mad for him. Charming, hilarious, a nonstop talker,” adding, “There was an aspect of him that was like a lost orphan, like this kind of crazy idiot savant. And oh, gorgeous!”
Not the Love of Her Life—but Close
Keaton confessed to being “taken with Al” from the start. Despite their undeniable chemistry, she later admitted that Pacino wasn’t “the love of [her] life.”
He was, as she put it, “the love of that time of my life.”
She added that each man she dated was from a different decade: Pacino was in her late 30s and early 40s, Warren Beatty was in her 30s, and Woody Allen was in her 20s.
When she mentioned him in public, she stated, “I never see Al now,” with a hint of nostalgia and a sense of closure.
She never will now. What about Pacino? That is something he will always have to deal with.
