‘HE DIED SMILING’: JULIA ROBERTS SHATTERS THE ‘PRETTY WOMAN’ FANTASY, DELIVERING A BRUTALLY REALISTIC POST-SCRIPT ON RICHARD GERE’S CHARACTER

NEW YORK, NY — The cinematic world was recently sent into a minor state of shock when Julia Roberts, the perennial queen of the romantic comedy genre, offered a stark, decidedly non-fairy-tale prediction for the future of her iconic Pretty Woman character, Vivian Ward, and her wealthy love interest, Edward Lewis, played by Richard Gere.

The unexpected post-script, delivered during a candid television interview, was so emotionally dark and brutally realistic that it cast a chilling new light on the celebrated 1990 classic.

Appearing on CBS Mornings to discuss her career and latest projects, Roberts was asked by host Gayle King to speculate on what some of her most famous characters might be doing today, decades after the final credits rolled.

While she was warm and optimistic about characters from films like Runaway Bride, the mood shifted dramatically when the subject of Pretty Woman arose.

Rather than imagining Vivian and Edward enjoying a perpetual, sun-drenched happily-ever-after, Roberts delivered a surprisingly grim, yet contextually insightful, assessment of Edward Lewis’s fate.

“I think he passed away peacefully in his sleep from a heart attack, smiling,” Roberts stated to a visibly surprised King.

She quickly added the consequential detail for her own character: “And now she runs his business. ”

This striking headcanon, delivered by the star herself, immediately went viral, forcing audiences to confront the considerable age gap and starkly different life paths of the beloved couple.

Edward Lewis, a high-powered, high-stress corporate raider in his 40s (Gere was around 40 at the time of filming) meeting the then-21-year-old streetwise Vivian Ward, was always a narrative stretch.

Roberts’s dark interpretation suggests that while Vivian found her fairy tale, the relationship’s structural realities dictated a somber conclusion for Edward.

The “bad” aspect of Roberts’s observation lies not only in the death of the romantic hero but in its underlying realism, which starkly contrasts with the film’s final, grand-gesture ending.

It served as a powerful reminder of the film’s origins: the original script, titled $3,000, was intended to be a far darker, grittier tale of drug addiction and human exploitation, ending with Edward throwing Vivian out of his car and leaving her with the agreed-upon money.

Roberts was a fierce advocate for a lighter ending, and she, along with director Garry Marshall, ultimately convinced Gere to take on the role and shape the film into the cultural phenomenon it became.

Gere himself initially hesitated to join the project, finding Edward’s character “criminally underwritten” and essentially just “a suit.

” Roberts reportedly visited Gere’s New York apartment and pleaded with him, famously passing him a Post-it Note that simply read: “Please say yes.”

The on-screen chemistry that followed was instantaneous and undeniable, leading to a decades-long friendship between the two stars and an industry standard for romantic comedies.

Yet, Roberts’s recent comment, which she delivered with a wry, knowing smile, pulls the curtain back on the artificiality of the genre.

By killing off Edward and putting Vivian in charge of the empire, Roberts’s vision effectively acknowledges Vivian’s capability, demonstrating that she was never truly a damsel in distress but a survivor who learned the tools of high finance from her lover before taking full control.

While the original source of the headline “Julia Roberts Is Finally Opening Up About Richard Gere… and It’s Bad” likely refers to this specific, dark theory about Edward’s fate, the broader truth is that Roberts and Gere have always maintained a deep, professional respect and mutual admiration, collaborating again in Runaway Bride (1999).

However, Roberts’s willingness to shatter the conventional romantic fantasy by replacing the white-knight narrative with an empowered, albeit widowed, female CEO has generated immense public conversation.

It is a striking revelation from an actress who built her career on those very fairy tales, suggesting a personal evolution toward a more cynical—or perhaps, simply more honest—view of Hollywood’s classic romances.

The fact remains that for millions, the image of Gere climbing the fire escape remains the ending, but for Roberts, the final chapter involves a lonely office and a successful, self-made executive who once walked Hollywood Boulevard.