The following article includes mentions of addiction, suicide, and domestic abuse.

The truth of Judy Garland's life painted a much less glamorous picture than what we saw on the silver screen. "The Wizard of Oz" star's issues stemmed from childhood, when her own mother started giving her stimulants to get her to keep up with the studios' demanding hours, followed by sleeping pills to counteract the effects of the so-called "pep pills." Garland claimed the studios themselves then picked up the practice. By adolescence, she was suffering from a pill addiction. The tragedies experienced in her love life did nothing to help.

Garland's five marriages were marked by forced abortions, infidelity, and physical and emotional abuse. Shortly after marrying David Rose at 19, Garland was talked into ending a pregnancy against her will to avoid tainting the virginal image that sold so well. She was forced to have a second abortion by her third husband, Sid Luft, when she was still married to Vincente Minnelli. But her second marriage was done by then. Garland caught Minnelli cheating with a man, an event that drove her to attempt suicide for the first time.

Throughout her marriage to Luft, Garland's attempts grew more frequent as she struggled with addiction and physical abuse. Her fourth husband, Mark Herron, reportedly had a shocking affair with her daughter's husband. She finally thought she found true love in Mickey Deans, but her loved ones believed he took advantage of her, often forcing her to perform when she was ill. Garland's love life proved to be as turbulent as her public life.