Lara Flynn Boyle Worries for Ex Jack Nicholson, Wants Him to ‘Get Back in Front of the Camera’

Lara Flynn Boyle has been to hell and back after conquering her booze addictions and finding true love – and she’s pulling for hermit ex Jack Nicholson to snap out of his funk and turn his reclusive life around too before it’s too late.

“She and Jack do talk, and she harbors no ill feelings and cherishes the times they had, even though they were pretty wild,” an insider exclusively tells Closer. “No one puts pressure on Jack, but everyone is of the same opinion: he doesn’t get out anymore and wallows at home.”

The source continues, “People naturally worry as he’s not getting any younger. He turns down movie roles and is clearly eating himself to death, and it’s sad. Lara can relate to Jack but hopes he can change as she did.”

Lara, 54, has mostly kept out of the public eye as of late, but the Twin Peaks alum is wary of the path Jack, 87, seems to be headed down. The As Good As It Gets star hasn’t worked in front of a camera since his role in How Do You Know in 2010.

“She’s still very fond of her solitude and goes to extreme lengths to stay out of the spotlight herself. Up until a few years ago, she was down at rock bottom using booze as a coping mechanism and it was way out of control,” the insider explains. “Since she got sober, she’s got nothing but peace and love in her heart and a great marriage.”

Lara took a break from acting in 2015, and since then she’s only taken on a couple of projects.

“She took this long absence, then found a way to come back and embrace it again with a new role in Mother, Couch,” the source says. “So, she feels it would do Jack a world of good to get back in front of the camera, too. She’s in love, healthy, confident and those dark days are long behind her. She’s got nothing but love for everyone, including Jack.”

Lara and Jack dated on and off for several years starting around 1999. Since then, the two have remained friendly with one another, and the Wayne’s World star recently opened up about their relationship to People. Lara clarified that while she and The Shining star don’t “hang out,” she admitted that he was a “huge part of her life.”

“That is seven years of great times, it’s seven years of wonderful,” Lara told the publication on July 3.

In the past, Jack’s dating life received a lot of media attention. He was only married once, to Sandra Knight from 1962 to 1968. The couple share one daughter, Jennifer. After their relationship ended, the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest star went on to father four more children by five different women. His children with Rebecca Broussard, Lorraine and Ray, are close with their dad, as well as Jennifer. However, Jack isn’t as close with his three youngest kids.

In recent years, the Something’s Gotta Give actor has developed a close relationship with Jennifer’s two children, Sean and Duke Norfleet. A source told Closer in 2021 that while Jack “wasn’t around for his kids when they were younger,” he was now an “enthusiastic grandfather.”