Katharine Hepburn had been married and divorced before she met Spencer Tracy, whom she greatly admired and insisted on working with for “Woman of the Year.” She didn’t have any children. Tracy, on the other hand, had married Louise in 1923 and had two children with her. The eldest, a son named John, had been born deaf, which gave Tracy, a Catholic, an immense sense of guilt. Though the press suggested his religious belief also meant that he felt unable to divorce Louise, a friend, James Bacon, said this is untrue, saying the actor stayed with his wife for his son (via “An Affair to Remember”).
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Regardless, Tracy indulged in a series of affairs with his co-stars, including Ingrid Bergman, Joan Crawford, and Grace Kelly. Hepburn was by far the most long-lasting of these, although the Kelly affair took place long after his relationship with Hepburn had begun. When Hepburn finally contacted Louise after Tracy’s death, Louise was shocked, having believed that the rumors of Hepburn’s affair with Tracy were untrue (via “Hollywood Couples”). Though Louise and Tracy had lived separate lives for years, she had stayed in a loveless marriage.
