Surprisingly enough, Bonnie & Clyde were only on the run together for just a couple of years, but it wasn’t until their deaths that people really got hooked onto their story and idolized their romantic and illicit legacy—especially since their death was so iconic in and of itself.
In 1967, the film Bonnie & Clyde about the two partners in crime was released, causing crowds of people to gush over their love story. Yet people were hooked on the adventures of Bonnie & Clyde far before the film came out.
What exactly got people so hooked on the wanted criminals, though?
People in America were still struggling with the effects of the Great Depression when Bonnie and Clyde's notorious death hit headlines in 1934. The public found their life of crime and romance just as addictive as we find reality TV shows in our current day and age.
What can we say? Misery sure does love company, and Bonnie and Clyde’s wild times together spiced things up for many. And it’s always fun to add some spice and drama during dark times.
Before we jump into their exhilarating story and unknown secrets of their lives behind the 'wanted' posters, who exactly were these romantic and rebellious racketeers?
Let’s start with the lady.
Bonnie Parker was merely 19 years old when she met her soulmate, Clyde, but she had quite an interesting upbringing far before he came along.
Born on October 1, 1910 in Rowena, Texas, Bonnie grew up with two other siblings.
Sadly, though, she had lost her father when she was just 4 years old.
Despite the fact that her father had passed away unexpectedly, and her mother was left to raise three children alone, Bonnie was quite a good egg.
Bonnie was always a bright kid, and shined in the classroom. In her free time, she had lots of fun dancing, singing, and even writing poetry!
From being a studious student to having fun to all sorts of activities, Bonnie seemed to be on a good path in life—but things took a drastic turn once she got to high school.
It doesn’t matter what generation or century you’re living in, when it comes to being a teenager, the struggles are pretty much the same. Right?
It’s usually something along the lines of trying to figure out who we are as people, dealing with physical body changes, and simultaneously feeling a whole range of emotions due to hormonal transitions. There’s no doubt that it’s a tough time!
And Bonnie was no different and right before her Sweet Sixteen, she started to play with fire and ended up making some life-changing decisions.
You know how we joke about our friends having a certain “type” of person they repeatedly date? Well, it’s safe to say that Bonnie’s type was definitely the bad boy.
When Bonnie was in high school, she started dating a boy named Roy Thornton, who would eventually end up becoming a convict and spend some time in prison.
But before that happened, Bonnie dropped out of high school so that the two could get married—and they did! But exchanging their “I Dos” wasn’t the only way that Bonnie professed her love for Roy.
One of Bonnie’s signature looks is her iconic tattoo. While she was with Roy, she got some ink on her legs of two hearts, intertwined, and labeled with their names “Bonnie” and “Roy”. Talk about a rebellious teenager. And in fact, Bonnie wore her wedding ring until the day she died.
And even though Roy was her first love, that doesn’t mean their love was perfect—after all, the power couple that we are transfixed with are Bonnie and Clyde, not Bonnie and Roy.
And it wouldn’t be long until her husband would be arrested for murder and sent to prison.
Bonnie and Roy had constantly hit bumpy patches throughout their relationship, and he would spend large amounts of time away from home anyway.
So during the time that her husband was sent to prison in 1929, she continued living her life with her family.
The young teenager was working at a local café and living with her mother as she waited for her husband to finish his five-year sentence.
Within the next year, though, Bonnie’s life was about to change drastically.
When Bonnie met Clyde, she was at the rebellious age of 19. But before we jump into their story, who exactly was Clyde?
Clyde Champion Barrow was born on March 24, 1909 in Telico, Texas, to Henry and Cumie Barrow. They were a family of itinerant farmers that traveled around and eventually moved to an area known as "the Devil's back porch” in the western part of Dallas.
Clyde was incredibly close to his older brother, Ivan “Buck” Barrow, and was heavily influenced by him.
Traveling around can be quite an adventurous task to take on as a family, so it makes sense that Clyde would be used to moving around from town to town as he grew up. However, long before he had dabbled in a life of crime, he had endured a tough childhood.
In fact, the infamous Clyde had suffered from an illness as a kid—researchers have guessed it was either malaria or yellow fever. But that didn’t stop him from dreaming big.
But alas, life doesn’t always go as planned, and Clyde was about to learn that the hard way.
