Burt Reynolds' ex-girlfriend Sally Field pays emotional tribute after his death aged 82: 'He will be in my heart as long as I live'

Sally Field has paid tribute to her ex Burt Reynolds following his death aged 82.

Hollywood icon Reynolds, died on Thursday morning at a hospital in Florida after suffering a heart attack .

As tributes poured in for the late star, Field – who Reynolds hailed “the love of his life” – issued an emotional statement.

The actress said: “There are times in your life that are so indelible, they never fade away. They stay alive, even forty years later.

“My years with Burt never leave my mind. He will be in my history and my heart, for as long as I live. Rest, Buddy.”

The co-stars appeared in four films together, two Smokey And The Bandit films, The End and Hooper.

Field and Reynolds met on the set of Smokey and The Bandit in 1977 and dated for five years.

Reynolds proposed to mother-of-two Field on a number of occasions but they never married, with the star telling Vanity Fair in 2015 that she was the “love of his life”.

At the time, he said: ‘I miss her terribly. Even now, it’s hard on me. I don’t know why I was so stupid.

“Men are like that, you know. You find the perfect person, and then you do everything you can to screw it up.”