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Sharon Stone revealed that her ex-husband Phil Bronstein ended their marriage when she told him she wanted a bilateral mastectomy to remove breast tumors discovered in the early 2000s. In an appearance on David Begnaud’s podcast “The Person Who Believed in Me” on June 1, Stone said her husband called her medical decision “ridiculous” and walked out of the room.
Quick Facts
- One tumor was larger than Stone’s entire left breast, according to her account on the podcast.
- Stone was married to journalist Phil Bronstein from 1998 to 2004.
- Her husband’s anger focused on the bilateral aspect of the surgery, not the cancer risk itself, Stone said.
- The tumors turned out to be benign, so Stone ultimately did not undergo the mastectomy.
Stone recalled that a doctor had visited her home and recommended the bilateral mastectomy, saying the tumors were serious. “I am deciding that I will have a bilateral, because I’m not fucking around,” she told the doctor at the time, according to the podcast episode.
When Stone informed her husband of her decision, his reaction was immediate. “My husband said, ‘This is ridiculous!’ And got up and left the room,” she said on the podcast. When host David Begnaud asked what her ex thought was ridiculous, Stone replied, “That I would have a bilateral. He was furious.”
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Begnaud clarified that her husband was upset about the removal of both breasts, not the potential cancer threat. “No, no,” Stone confirmed, explaining that her husband was focused on the body change rather than her health risk. The doctor intervened, telling Bronstein: “If I had more patients like her, we’d have more women alive today. You need to sit down.”
Stone said the moment in that room marked the definitive end of their relationship. “That was the end of the marriage. That was it. He was done with me then. It was over,” she said. “It was just over in the room. You could just tell. It was over.” She added that her husband thought she was “ridiculous” and “foolish” for making her own medical decisions.
The tumors proved to be benign, and Stone did not require the mastectomy. She and Bronstein separated, with their divorce finalized in 2004. The couple had adopted a son, Roan, in 2000.
Sources
- E! News — reported Stone’s podcast appearance and quoted her account of her husband’s reaction to her mastectomy decision.
- BuzzFeed — covered the podcast episode with extended quotes from Stone about the medical situation and her marriage.
