Debbie Reynolds’ Strong Christian Faith ‘Got Her Through All The Difficult Times,’ Her Son Says

Todd Fisher, son of the late great Singin’ In The Rain star Debbie Reynolds and brother to Star Wars icon Carrie Fisher from her marriage to Eddie Fisher, opened up recently about how his mom’s strong faith in God “got her through all the difficult times” in life.

Debbie Reynolds’ Strong Belief In God 

“Her survival capabilities came from her belief in God,” her son Todd Fisher told Closer Weekly. “Her faith got her through all the difficult times.”

Reynolds was America’s sweetheart when she married Eddie Fisher in 1955, and they welcomed their daughter Carrie of Star Wars fame the next year before Todd was born in 1958.

Sadly, Fisher then left Reynolds for her good friend Elizabeth Taylor, leaving her devastated.

“My marriages have been one of the greatest voids in my life,” she once said. “I married all the wrong men.”

“My mother had this dream of having the perfect husband and the little family with a boy and a girl. It happened, and then it didn’t happen,” Todd explained. “Truthfully, Eddie was the best of the husbands. He didn’t do anything with malice, and he didn’t take a penny from her.”

Related: Atlanta Braves’ Star Player Praises ‘The Good Lord’ After Winning World Series

Debbie Reynolds Marries Again

Since Eddie wouldn’t pay child support, Reynolds married shoe magnate Harry Karl, whom she called “wise and strong and kind,” in 1960 in order to provide for her family. They had some good years together, but then things went south.

“He loved my mother, for sure,” Todd recalled. “But she didn’t have any clue that he was going to turn into this nightmare gambler. Between the gambling, drinking and bad judgment, it eventually led to him cheating on her as well.”

When Reynolds divorced Karl in 1973, she was $10 million in debt. 

“The financial ruin was bad,” Todd admitted. “But the foreclosure on her house, that was just humiliating.”

Reynolds then went on the road singing in nightclubs in order to pay back her creditors. 

“I’m 45 and I don’t have $20,000. You think I haven’t learned the hard way? I’ve lived it,” she once said. “But I want to survive. I’m going to survive.”

Related: Here’s How Queen Elizabeth’s ‘Strong Religious Faith’ Has Helped Her Deal With Royal Family Drama

Third Time Is The Charm

Debbie Reynolds had sworn off marriage by then, which is why it came as a shock to Todd when she called him up in 1984 with an invitation. 

She said I’m in Florida, and I’m getting married in four days,” remembered Todd, who flew down to meet Richard Hamlett, a real estate developer who became his mother’s third husband. “He was a very classy, good-looking guy. I liked him right up until I learned he was stealing from her.”

Hamlett managed to convince Reynolds to invest in his business ventures, including a Las Vegas hotel casino.

“They found some transfers of money going out of the country from the hotel,” said Todd, who showed the evidence to his mother. “My mother didn’t believe it. But when she showed it to Richard, his response was so ridiculous that it was obvious he was guilty.”

To this day, Todd wishes that his mother, who died in 2016, had found long-lasting love.

“She really deserved to be with someone who appreciated her,” he said.

Despite never finding the man of her dreams, Debbie Reynolds’ faith allowed her to survive and live life to the fullest.

“I made mistakes,” she once said. “But this is my life. This is what I know. I’ve been lucky.”