Jack Nicholson 'scared to die alone' after years of womanising

Hollywood veteran Jack Nicholson has admitted that years of womanising have left him single and destined to die alone.

In a candid interview with US magazine Closer, the 77-year-old actor claimed that although he still has a "yearning" for companionship, he believes that the chances of finding a partner at this point in his life are "not very realistic".

"I would love that one last romance but I'm not very realistic about it happening. What I can't deny is my yearning," he told the publication. "I'm definitely still wild at heart, but I've struck biogravity."

A source told Closer that Nicholson is "afraid of dying alone" in his house in the Hollywood hills, which his children had been hoping he would sell.

The Shining star, dubbed "Jack the Jumper" because of his reputation as a ladies' man, said he is now ready for a monogamous relationship.

He explained: "I can't hit on women in public any more. I didn't decide this; it just doesn't feel right at my age.

"I have had everything a man could ask for but no one could say I'm successful with affairs of the heart.

"I don't think relationships are fixed things. People are necessarily complex and confused beings. We don't always do the right thing, say the right thing and behave the way we always want to behave."

Nicholson has a daughter with Sandra Knight, with whom he was married from 1962 to 1968. He went on to have a turbulent relationship with Addams Family star Anjelica Huston, which lasted 15 years despite his cheating.

The final straw came in 1990 when he told Huston he was expecting a baby with actress Rebecca Broussard. He ended up having two children with her.

Nicholson admits that women struggle to trust him as a result of his philandering past.

"No woman has ever recognised what I say as being legitimate – they don't trust me," he added.

"They think of my reputation – Jack the Jumper – so I'm damned by what women think."