Molly Ringwald opened up about still unpacking and evaluating her relationship with John Hughes. Hughes directed The Breakfact Club and Sixteen Candles, both of which starred Ringwald. The duo had an 18-year age gap, and now that time has passed, the actress admitted Hughes calling her his "muse" was creepy.
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Molly Ringwald Reveals Truth Behind "Strange" Relationship With John Hughes
During Tuesday's episode on the podcast Reclaiming with Monica Lewinsky, Ringwald guest-starred and spoke about their "peculiar" relationship. "I always felt it was incredibly complimentary," said Ringwald, thinking back on her being Hughes' muse. "Looking back on it, there is something a little peculiar."
The iconic '80s director was 33 when he wrote the script for Sixteen Candles. Meanwhile, Ringwald was a 15-year-old teenager who Hughes used as inspiration during script writing, going as far as to have her headshot above his desk.
The late Hughes, who died in 2009 at 59 years old, wrote the entire story based on her photo. "He put that up on his bulletin board above his computer station and he wrote this movie," said Ringwald. "And so when it came time to cast it, and they said 'Who do you want?' he said, 'The girl I wrote this about.' So we met and the rest is history."
She recalled not having a lot of experience back then, and at the time, it wasn't something she found odd. "It didn't seem that strange to me. I mean, now it does." When Lewinsky asked if it felt strange in a "complimentary" way or a "weird" and "creepy" way, Ringwald admitted to it being "peculiar."
The 57-year-old actress continued to describe it as "complex." She has thought about it deeply since, especially since she has admitted to being taken advantage of in Hollywood. "It's something that I turn over in my head a lot and try to figure out, how that all affected me. I feel like I'm still processing all of that and I probably will until the day I die."
After starring in 1984's Sixteen Candles, Hughes continued to have his muse in his works. One year later, The Breakfast Club came out with Ringwald in the main cast. Then, in 1986, she starred in his next film, Pretty in Pink.
