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Netflix recently released a documentary, titled Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me, which revolves around the life story of model and actress, Anna Nicole Smith. The documentary has managed to grab the attention of many and has been in the headlines recently for the controversial topics it has spotlighted.
Among one of the most talked about and shocking revelations in the documentary is one by Melissa "Missy" Byrum. She is a former friend of the late model and in an unexpected turn of events, has claimed that she and Anna Nicole Smith were in a "secret relationship" and got married “in the backyard by the pool” in 1993.
Byrum revealed in the Netflix documentary that she and Smith met in the early nineties in a strip club in Houston, where they both worked. She claimed that they became best friends and later, lovers.
However, what is perhaps the most confusing aspect of Byrum's story is that Smith had married famous oil tycoon Howard Marshall II in 1994, whereas Byrum claims that she married Smith the previous year. In an interview with People magazine, when asked about the same, Byrum explained:
"[Marshall] knew [Smith] was a young woman and needed certain things. He allowed her to have her boy toys or whatever."
People magazine also reported that Byrum and Smith began their “secret relationship” in 1992 and Smith “proposed” to her the following year. Byrum also spoke about the proposal as follows:
“She gave me a set of rings and we got married in the backyard by the pool with champagne… She wanted me to have a baby with her. But I always knew it wasn’t ever going to work out because she was never, ever going to settle down with one person. She needed more love than any one human being could give her.”
However, Melissa Byrum later revealed that the couple had separated due to Smiths' addiction to painkillers.
Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me explores the actress' relationship with Howard Marshall
The Netflix documentary, based on the life of model Anna Nicole Smith, also sheds light on her highly-criticized marriage with oil tycoon Howard Marshall. The reason that the marriage received heavy backlash from the public was the enormous age gap between the two, with Marshall being 89 and Smith being just 26 when they married.
Many people accused the late model of trying to inherit his wealth after he died, but the actress consistently denied these accusations, stating that she had truly loved Marshall and had no intention of marrying him for his money.
The documentary also saw Melissa Byrum, Smith's alleged lover, talk about Smiths' relationship with Howard, she commented on the matter by saying:
“She really loved him. The way he took care of her and looked out for her – she cared about him a lot. She didn’t want people to think that she was after his money. [Her] Aunt Kay and I both said, ‘If you love him, to heck with what people think!’”
Marshall died at the age of 90 in 1995, just 14 months after his marriage to Anna Nicole Smith. The actress went on to never marry again, but she was romantically linked to fashion designer Christian Audigier, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, photographer Larry Birkhead, and lawyer Howard K Stern.
Anna Nicole Smith's ex Larry Birkhead shared his views on the Netflix documentary
Anna Nicole Smith shared a daughter, Dannielynn Birkhead (16) with photographer Larry Birkhead.
Larry Birkhead confirmed in a statement to the New York Post that the father-daughter duo would not be participating in the Netflix documentary and are planning their “own special project” for future release.
He elaborated on his "special project" by saying:
"I just decided to pass on this and do our own project using Anna’s archives that she left behind. You can’t get any more definitive than Anna in her own words! So, it was important for me to let Anna tell her own story.”
He continued:
"Anna’s personal diaries, and journals. That is Anna speaking out in everything from life, love, and loss of her husband J. Howard Marshall, finance highs and lows. Her thoughts on family and certain friends. They go back way before she was discovered when she was still Vickie Lynn living in Texas.”
The actress, unfortunately, passed away in 2007, as a result of combined drug intoxication.
Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me is now streaming on Netflix.
