Jane Fonda says the only relationship she would consider now would be with ‘a younger man’

‘I’m very grateful that I don’t have to get naked in front of anybody again ever, even in candlelight,’ the Oscar-winning actor and activist added

Jane Fonda has opened up about whether or not she would ever consider having a relationship again.

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the iconic 83-year-old Oscar winner and activist says that, generally speaking, “I don't want to be in a relationship, a sexual relationship, again. I don't have that desire."

That said, there is one scenario she would consider.

“Do I fantasize? Yes, here's my fantasy,” she said. "That I meet a professor or a researcher, somebody in that line who is really capable of loving, of cherishing a woman, so that I could test myself and see if I could show up. I think maybe now I could, but the problem is that, like a man, I would want a younger man. Isn’t that awful? It’s a thing about skin. I would want a younger man, and I’m too vain.”

When pressed for what she meant about “skin”, Fonda clarified: “I’m very grateful that I don’t have to get naked in front of anybody again ever, even in candlelight.

“And if I did, I mean in my fantasy, the man is younger than me, so that would make it even harder,” she continued. “I’m being perfectly honest. I wish that wasn’t true. But, you know, [the way] I was raised, the man I adored was my dad. And, man, you had to look a certain way, and I never could. I’ve never been able to get that out of my body. It’s just part of me.”

Fonda, who comes from a major Hollywood family (her father was celebrated actor Henry Fonda), has historically been an advocate for public causes, such as women’s equality, climate change, and various anti-war efforts.

In the 1970s, Fonda made headlines when she traveled to North Vietnam during the height of the anti-Vietnam War protests, posing for photos next to an anti-aircraft gun, which she later apologised for.

In 2014, Fonda received a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute. She also launched IndieCollect’s Jane Fonda Fund for Women Directors, an organization aimed to support the restoration of films helmed by women from around the world.

More recently, Fonda was arrested at the US Capitol while peacefully protesting climate change in 2019, an action dubbed Fire Drill Fridays.

Fonda’s book, What Can I Do? My Path from Climate Despair to Action, released last year, details her personal journey with Fire Drill Fridays.