LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The youngest individual ever to win an Oscar, Tatum O’Neal, once had an affair with a commoner, Tim Zick, who finally talked about his time with the star in a revealing interview.
Tatum O’Neal received an Oscar when she was only 10 years old. She won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Addie in the 1973 film ‘Paper Moon’. But she had a fall from grace when she developed an addiction to drugs at barely 14 years of age. While she married tennis legend, John McEnroe in 1986 and had three children with him, O’Neal’s dalliance with drugs continued.
She even went to several rehab centers with the hope of coming clean for the sake of her children. During her stay at the fourth rehab center in the late 90s, she met a man named Tim Zick with whom she went on to have an affair.
Who is Tim Zick?
As reported by RadarOnline, Tim Zick was a construction worker with whom the Oscar-winning actress had an affair when she was in rehab. He was 11 years younger than her, which makes Zick approximately 48 now.
In an interview with RadarOnline, he revealed the salacious details of his short-lived affair with the ‘Paper Moon’ actress, Tatum O’Neal. O’Neal, who was then suffering from heroin addiction after her messy divorce from McEnroe, was at her fourth clinic in 14 months in an attempt to come clean.
Zick recalled how one day, when no one was around, O’Neal asked him to kiss her when he was sitting quietly reading his anti-drug book. He said that he complied, stating, "No one was around so I did," adding that their chemistry then took off. However, he said that things didn’t escalate past cuddling when they were in rehab. Zick said, "We would go for walks together and kiss and cuddle, but in the clinic, that's as far as it went."
‘I had my few weeks in the sun with Tatum’
However, after they were released from the facility, they united once again. As per Zick, they met for over ten days in various locations including the Oscar-winning actress’s New York apartment, country estate, and even Zick’s home.
Quite naturally, Zick was starstruck and he claimed it felt unreal. Zick continued, "I couldn't believe it," before adding, "I kept telling her, 'I am a nothing and you are a famous film star,' but she told me she just wanted someone normal."
He further shared an anecdote recalling the time he told her about a past group meeting and revealed that he had a favorite local bar named Mr. Dick’s. He reminisced O’Neal's response to it, as he said, "She thought that was really funny. Afterward, she came up to me, very flirtatiously, and asked me to take her to Mr. Dick's.”
Zick further said that he once told O’Neal that being a Hollywood star, she could never understand his “way of life,” as he is a commoner who woke up early in the morning and after getting his coffee, he went to work and ended the day with his daily ritual - buying a lottery ticket. Zick recalled, "She looked at me and said, 'Tim, you've just won the lottery with me!"
However, their affair was a short-lived one as Zick could feel the couple was growing distant. He shared, "I spoke to her a few times after then, but we seemed to be getting more distant.” He concluded on a sunny note, saying, "The way I look at it is that it was fun. I had my few weeks in the sun with Tatum."
