Inside Ginger Rogers' 5 short-lived marriages to famous husbands — and why she never had children

In 1929, 17-year-old Ginger married Jack Pepper, a vaudeville dancer she'd known since she was a young girl. Jack, nearly a decade older than his new bride, briefly teamed up with Ginger to form the act "Ginger and Pepper."

However, within a year, their relationship ended, with the union ending in divorce by 1931. They continued to speak fondly of each other, though. He found love with Dawn Stanton in 1935, remaining with her until his death in 1979.

In 1933, Ginger met actor Lew Ayres when they co-starred in the film Don't Bet on Love. The pair appropriately found love on set and tied the knot a year later.

Their marriage was also short-lived, with the two separating in 1936 and divorcing in 1940. Ginger's profile had skyrocketed by their divorce, having made nine Astaire-Rogers films in that span and becoming one of the country's top box office draws.

When actor Jack Briggs, known for movies like Joan of Paris (1942) and Ladies' Day (1943), served as Private First Class in the Marines, he was assigned to give Ginger a tour of Camp Elliot in San Diego. The pair fell in love soon after, and tied the knot in 1943.

However, as the star wrote in her memoir, her new husband's apparent declining work and worsening alcoholism after the war led to their marriage dissolving soon after, ending in divorce in 1949.

While vacationing in France, Ginger met law student Jacques Bergerac, who was nearly 16 years her junior. The pair struck up a romance and tied the knot in 1953, which led to Jacques moving to Hollywood and starting his own acting career, appearing in projects like Twist of Fate (1954), Gigi (1958), and A Global Affair (1964).

They divorced in 1957 when Ginger, per her memoir, apparently caught him having an affair, writing: "I was deeply hurt when I discovered his unfaithfulness," although maintained that he was perfectly friendly whenever they met in public after the split.

Ginger's fifth marriage came in 1961, when she married bandleader, director and producer William Marshall. The marriage was Ginger's longest, lasting eight years, before their divorce in 1969.

As with some of her previous relationships, alcoholism proved to be a factor in their split, with the 42nd Street star writing: "I'd given up on other men because of alcohol, and I didn't want to quit again. I foolishly thought I could make a difference."

While the star walked down the aisle five times, the relative instability of her marriages as well as her demanding career as an actress and a dancer dissuaded her from having children.

But Ginger was open about finding joy in life without becoming a parent or looking back with any regret. She told Joan Rivers in 1984 that while she was "sorry on occasion" that she didn't have kids, she looked at it as an opportunity to be more of a mother figure and mentor to others.

"There's a sort of magnetism for youngsters who come to you, ask you for advice, they want a little [motherly] love and friendship from you, and I've been so happy," the Oscar winner gushed.