In an interview with The Times, Edoardo Ponti, son of legendary actress Sophie Loren and film director himself, opened up about the complex yet profound relationship between his mother and her husband Carlo Ponti. Ponti began courting 15-year-old Sophie when he was 37, and according to Edoardo, he became much more than a lover — he was a substitute father figure for her.

“Beyond romantic love and attraction, he gave her a sense of protection and stability — something she always lacked,” the 52-year-old Edoardo revealed.

Sophie Loren, now 90, grew up in a suburb of Naples without a father. As a teenager, she and her mother moved to Rome hoping to find Sophie’s biological father and gain his support, but he refused to acknowledge her. Her mother soon returned home, leaving 16-year-old Sophie alone in the capital to build her career.

“Imagine a 16-year-old girl today telling her mother, ‘You go, I’ll stay here alone.’ It’s unimaginable. But my mother was always like that. Every role she played on screen stems from her own traumatic experiences,” Edoardo noted.

Carlo Ponti played a key role in the young actress’s career, giving her first major roles and mentoring her in cinema. In her memoir Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow, Sophie described Ponti as a man who became an important figure from the very beginning: “He was married, so we had to be careful. But later our bond grew into love. He gave me advice and support — something vital when you’re just starting out. There was something fatherly about him. I never knew my real father, but with Carlo, I felt support and peace,” she wrote.

Their relationship began in 1950 while Ponti was still officially married. To marry Sophie, he had to get a divorce annulled in Mexico, after which the couple wed by proxy. However, in Italy, their union risked charges of bigamy and cohabitation, leading them to annul the marriage in 1962.

The decision came years later: the family moved to France, obtained citizenship, and in 1966 Sophie and Carlo officially married. They remained together until Ponti’s death in 2007.

They had two sons: conductor Carlo Ponti Jr. and director Edoardo Ponti. In Edoardo’s debut film Between Strangers, Sophie played the lead role.

Today, Sophie Loren lives in Geneva but keeps close ties with her children and grandchildren. She has said that family is her greatest source of joy. Despite her age, she remains active, lending her voice for a character in Pixar’s Cars 2 and acting in short films.

Sophie Loren remains one of the greatest actresses of the 20th century, an Oscar winner for her role in the 1960 drama Two Women (La Ciociara), where she portrayed a mother surviving the horrors of war.