Why Tom Hanks turned down ‘When Harry Met Sally’ role

In a tale that could have given us one of the most iconic rom-com pairings, Tom Hanks‘ wife, Rita Wilson, has revealed the reason behind Hanks turning down the opportunity to star opposite Meg Ryan in the beloved 1989 film, When Harry Met Sally.

During an appearance on the Tuesday, June 13 episode of the Table for Two With Bruce Bozzi podcast, Wilson spilled the beans.

“People, probably don’t know this, but Tom was offered When Harry Met Sally and he turned it down because he was going through a divorce and he was very happy to be not married,” she shared. “And so he could not understand that a person going through a divorce would have anything other than just like, ‘I’m so happy.'”

In the classic romantic comedy, both Billy Crystal‘s Harry and Meg Ryan’s Sally are devastated by their respective marriages ending.

Hanks and his first wife, Samantha Lewes, had ended their nine-year marriage in 1987, and shortly after, he tied the knot with Wilson in 1988. The couple has been happily together ever since, raising a blended family that includes their own children, Chet, 32, and Truman, 27, as well as Hanks’ children from his previous marriage, Colin, 45, and Elizabeth, 41.

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