Sally Ride and Tam O’Shaughnessy kept their relationship under wraps for almost 30 years.
Astronaut Sally is remembered for leaving her significant mark by being the first American woman to travel to space in 1983, however, the documentary Sally, which is based on her life, is allowing viewers to see a personal side to her.
Tam confessed that only 10 days before Sally passed in 2012 at the age of 61, due to her battle with pancreatic cancer, she got the astronaut’s blessing to publicly share their love story.
© Getty ImagesTam recalled to People: “Ten days before she died, I asked her how I should be to the public. I was holding sort of a public celebration of her life, and then a national tribute at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and I was like, ‘So, who am I?'”
Although the pair’s closest ones were aware of their partnership, Tam struggled with not being transparent with the public about their truth.
© Getty ImagesShe shared: “Our friends and family knew, and people guessed. It didn’t feel honest. She told me, ‘You decide what you want to say [and] how open you want to be about our relationship.'”
Tam admitted that during her interview for the documentary, she “sort of broke down,” when talking about Sally, which took her back.
She expressed: “When I was describing my relationship with Sally, and especially when Sally got sick, I got teary-eyed, and it just got me all the way through to my heart and guts, and that was a little bit of a surprise.”
© Getty ImagesThe documentary’s producer Lauren Cioffi knew that having Tam be a part of the film would be the key to understanding who Sally authentically was.
Lauren explained: “Sally is so closed off in her communication that Tam was the closest and most intimate voice that we could get to Sally,” per People.
Director Cristina Costantini was also moved by Tam’s participation in the film and believed that it “changed everything.’ Cristina shared: “[We were] all inspired directly from Tam’s memory.”
© Getty ImagesSally and Tam had transitioned from being childhood friends to lovers, and Tam deeply cherished the moments they had. In the film, Tam revealed that the two met when Sally was 13 and Tam was 12, while they were in the check-in line for a tennis tournament in California. They began their relationship in 1985.
Tam revealed in the movie: “That [tournament] kind of started our friendship. Sally was kind of quiet, but she would talk for eight minutes straight on different players and how to beat ’em.”
Tam stated to People: “We had a wonderful relationship from the time we were kids until we became lovers. I think it’s something to be proud of.” She hopes that the film will showcase to America “who [Sally] really was.”
© Getty ImagesThe documentary will be available for streaming on June 17 on Disney Plus.
