A former actress and model has come forward with claims that she had a relationship with Woody Allen that started when she was 16.
Christina Engelhardt, now 59, opened up to The Hollywood Reporter in an extensive interview in which she alleged starting a relationship with the now 83-year-old director when she was underage. Engelhardt said she chose to come forward now after reevaluating parts of her relationship with the famous Annie Hall director.
“What made me speak is I thought I could provide a perspective,” she said. “I’m not attacking Woody. This is not ‘bring down this man.’ I’m talking about my love story. This made me who I am. I have no regrets.”
Allen didn’t provide comment to THR and has not responded to a request for comment by PEOPLE.
Engelhardt said the relationship started when she gave Allen her number at a New York City restaurant in 1976 and he called her a few days later to invite her to his apartment. The two continued a relationship for 8 years in which they often met at his penthouse overlooking Central Park.
“The curtains were always drawn,” Engelhardt said. “The view must have been spectacular. I wasn’t there for the view.”
The former actress also alleged that, throughout the course of their relationship, Allen brought two other “beautiful young ladies” for them to have threesomes with.
Four years into their romance, Engelhardt said she was surprised when Allen told her he wanted to introduce her to his new “girlfriend” Mia Farrow. Though Engelhardt admitted she felt shaken by the introduction, as she considered herself Allen’s girlfriend, she stayed with the director while he dated Farrow.
Farrow hasn’t responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In late 2017, Allen faced resurfaced allegations of child molestation by his daughter Dylan Farrow, who publicly claimed in a New York Times open letter in 2014 that Allen molested her as a child. Allen has long denied the allegations, which were first reported during his explosive 1992 split from Farrow. The director was not charged, though a Connecticut prosecutor said there was probable cause for a criminal case.
