Soon-Yi broke silence on controversial Woody Allen relationship and 'regrets' the fact her mum found nude photos he took of her
In a bombshell interview seven years ago, Soon-Yin Prever reflected on the earliest days of her romance with husband Woody Allen, which were plagued with mass controversy at the time.
The pair tied the knot in 1997 after several years of dating in the public eye. Unfortunately for the filmmaker Allen, now 89, and Soon-Yin, 54, the world was far from thrilled for the couple.
For those in need of a reminder, the duo first came face-to-face in the late 1970s, when Soon-Yi was just a child.
How did the couple meet?
The South Korean national is the daughter of actress Mia Farrow. She was adopted by the star and her composer ex-husband André Previn in 1978, along with three other children - two girls from Vietnam, and a son, also from Korea.
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Sadly, though, the following year, the former couple - who also shared three biological children - divorced.
Farrow went on to begin dating director Allen, the pair having known each other through the Hollywood film circuit for several years. eventually going on to welcome one biological son, Sachel, and an adopt a daughter, Dylan, together.
It was also at some point during their 12-year courtship that Allen began having an affair with Soon-Yi, who'd just started college.
According to their respective recollections, things became physical between the pair in 1991, when the student was just 21.
"It was 25 years ago," Soon-Yi told Vulture of their early days in 2018. "I think Woody went after me because at that first basketball game I turned out to be more interesting and amusing than he thought I’d be.
"Mia was always pounding into him what a loser I was."
In his autobiography Apropros of Nothing, Allen also wrote of the period: "Cut to some time later, I'm shooting Husbands and Wives, Soon-Yi comes in from college and I screen The Seventh Seal.
"Bergman's film ends and we're alone in my screening room, and quite smoothly, if I do say so myself, I lean in and kiss her."
He went on to write: "She is complicit in the osculation and to the point, as always, says, 'I was wondering when you were going to make a move.'"
Farrow's gut-wrenching discovery
It didn't take long for Soon-Yin's mother Farrow to discover that her partner and daughter were enjoying intimate relations.
And one day, in 1992, whilst rifling through her bedroom, she came across a series of polaroid photos of Soon-Yi, which - according to the New York Times - were of an extremely erotic nature.
The images would later be used in court after Farrow and Allen's adopted daughter Dylan accused the filmmaker of sexually abusing her around this time whilst she was a child, claims he consistently denied.
Addressing the images to a judge, Allen later claimed that the photographs were a matter between two consenting adults. He added that Soon-Yi had suggested the pair taking photographs, and he had suggested the revealing poses.
"I said, 'Lay back on the sofa. Give me your most erotic poses. Let yourself go'," he claimed.
Despite Dylan's claims that her adoptive father had touched her 'private parts' being investigated and subsequently dismissed by the New York judge, the explicit photographs used as evidence have long played on Soon-Yi's mind.
Soon-Yi's regret
Despite she and Farrow having remained estranged in 2021 - the year that the actress claimed in the Allen v. Farrow documentary that she blames Allen for 'weaponising' her daughter - Soon-Yi admitted she 'regrets' that her mother found the images.
"I think it would have been horrible for her," she told Vulture, before quickly re-emphasising: "You know, we were both consenting adults."
In the documentary mentioned, Farrow went on to slam Allen for breaking her trust as a father-figure to her adopted child.
"I love her so much and I didn't ever blame her, you know, because she was just a little kid when he came into the family," she confessed on Soon-Yi. "She was a little girl. We were family and he was in my home as my partner and as such he had responsibilities.
"You don't get to have sex with my children. That isn't part of the deal."
Where are Woody Allen and Soon-Yi now?
Despite having garnered negative attention over the years for the nature of their relationship, Soon-Yi has remained by her husband's side since their 1997 wedding.
The couple have since gone on to adopt to daughters together - Bechet, now 26, and Manzie, 25 - and split their time between Los Angeles and New York.
Rhianna Benson