Mamas & Papas star says Warren Beatty her great love

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michelle Phillips, the last surviving member of The Mamas & The Papas, said actor Warren Beatty was the love of her life but that he lost her because he did not know how to treat women.

In an interview with Vanity Fair magazine released this week, she said, "I was madly in love with him," but ultimately she was put off by what she called his passive-aggressive behavior.

"I love (his wife) Annette Bening, and I pray for her every day! She can manage the guy, and I never could. He drove me nuts!"

Phillips, 63, says she "fell off the couch laughing" years later when Beatty told Barbara Walters in a TV interview that his relationships with women often ended because "They broke up with me!"

"That is what Warren makes his women do!" said Phillips, one of four members of the 1960s pop group.

Prior to his 1992 marriage to Bening, who co-starred with Beatty in the film "Bugsy," the actor earned a reputation as a Hollywood lothario, having been linked romantically over the years with such stars as Natalie Wood, Joan Collins and Madonna.

In the article, Phillips also discusses other loves of her life, including Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper and her relationship with ex-husband John Phillips, who died six years ago.

On Nicholson, Phillips said, "He was a lovely guy. Charming, sweet, and fun to be with."

But she added that all went wrong one morning when Nicholson received a call telling him that the woman he thought was his aunt was actually his mother and the woman he thought was his mother was actually his grandmother.

Phillips, who has carved out a successful career in acting since The Mamas & The Papas ended, said as a result Nicholson lost all faith in women, including her.

Reuters/Nielsen