Phil Bronstein’s reaction to Sharon Stone’s mastectomy ended marriage

Sharon Stone’s decision to undergo a bilateral mastectomy after doctors discovered breast tumors in the early 2000s marked the moment she realized her marriage to journalist Phil Bronstein was over, the actress revealed in a recent podcast interview. Stone, who was married to Bronstein from 1998 to 2004, said his reaction to her medical decision became the final straw that ended their relationship.

Quick Facts

• Stone was diagnosed with breast tumors larger than her entire breast in the early 2000s, shortly after surviving a subarachnoid hemorrhage in September 2001
• Doctors advised a bilateral mastectomy, but Bronstein called the decision “ridiculous” and walked out of the room
• Stone said she told her husband “I make the decisions, not you,” marking what she describes as the end of their marriage
• The tumors ultimately proved benign, and Stone did not require the mastectomy; she has not remarried since her 2004 divorce

Speaking on the podcast “The Person Who Believed In Me,” Stone recalled the moment a doctor told her she should have the procedure. “The doctor had come out to my house and said, ‘Look, we think you should have a bilateral mastectomy. This is really bad. And we usually, when they’re all the way up into here, we know before we go in that they’re cancer,'” she said, describing one tumor as larger than her entire left breast.

Stone said she decided to move forward with the surgery despite her own belief that the tumors were not cancerous. “Because I’m not f—ing around,” she explained. But Bronstein strongly objected. “My husband said, ‘This is ridiculous,’ and got up and left the room,” Stone recalled. When asked what specifically angered him, she said: “That I would have a bilateral. He was furious.”

Stone clarified that Bronstein’s anger was not rooted in concern about cancer. When asked if he was worried the condition could be life-threatening, she said, “No, no.” A doctor present during the conversation pushed back on Bronstein’s reaction, telling him: “If I had more patients like her, we’d have more women alive today. You need to sit down.”

Stone responded by asserting her autonomy. “And I said, ‘I make the decisions, not you.’ That was the end of the marriage,” she said. She elaborated: “That was it. He was done with me then. It was over. He thought I was ridiculous. He thought I was foolish. He thought I was making too many decisions myself.”

The couple, who adopted their son Roan in 2000, divorced in 2004 after six years of marriage. Stone’s tumors ultimately turned out to be benign, and she did not require the double mastectomy. She has remained single since the divorce and told the podcast host she believes she will eventually find a partner who “loves you just the way you are.”

Sources

• The Daily Beast — Reported Stone’s full podcast interview with David Begnaud, including her account of Bronstein’s reaction and her statements about the end of the marriage
• People — Covered Stone’s revelation that her husband called her mastectomy decision “ridiculous” and walked out, and her statement that this marked the end of their relationship