Susan Sarandon's Ex Jonathan Bricklin Slams Boy Toy Label, Says "I Wasn't Good Enough"

Susan Sarandon's ex, Jonathan Bricklin, tells The New York Post he took issue with his adopted moniker of boy toy.Credit: David M. Benett/Getty Images

Susan Sarandon's ex-boyfriend Jonathan Bricklin may have been 31 years her junior, but don't cast him off as a "boy toy." As Bricklin, 37, explains, his love for the 68-year-old actress ran deep, and despite their breakup, Bricklin will always have a soft spot for her. "She's someone I love more than anyone I've ever been with, and that won't change," he told the New York Post's Page Six in an interview March 30.

Though it wasn't the deciding factor, Bricklin says the AOL series they filmed together, Connected, documenting their life (and the lives of other New Yorkers) over six months, contributed to their breakup. "We had a six-year relationship that's gone through ups and downs," Bricklin said. "We're taking some time apart to really refresh."

During his romance with Sarandon, Bricklin tells The Post he struggled with their age gap, and his subsequently adopted label of boy toy.

In fact, Bricklin took issue during their courtship that he wasn't on par with Sarandon's celebrity stature. "I felt like I never lived up to that," Bricklin, who met Sarandon on a 2010 trip to Chile and co-owns ping-pong lounge SPiN with her, admitted to Page Six. "I wasn't a backup dancer for Madonna, so I felt like no one [knew] anything about me . . . she's not dating some young male model that could look pretty in tabloid pictures."

Sarandon's ex also felt somewhat slighted by her family and friends. "I loved her dating me, and I never felt embarrassed for her dating me," he says. “What I felt was, the general public and maybe her family or friends maybe felt that I wasn't good enough for her." Read more about what Bricklin said about his relationship with Sarandon on Page Six.

Prior to her romance with Bricklin, Sarandon was in a long-term partnership with fellow actor Tim Robbins, the father of her two sons, Jack, 26, and Miles, 23, for 23 years. They called it quits in 2009. Sarandon was married to The Princess Bride's Chris Sarandon from 1967 to 1979, and shares daughter, Eva Amurri, with ex Franco Amurri.

Exclusive: Susan Sarandon on Her New TV Series Satirizing George W. Bush

The Oscar-winning actress opens up about her new TV comedy premiering Fall 2016 on Epix that takes aim at disgraced ex-POTUS George W. Bush.

Susan Sarandon, the Oscar-winning actress, David Bowie paramour, and paragon of timeless cool, has made it very clear that she’s no fan of George W. Bush—you know, the smirking frat boy who, as president, led the United States into a costly war under false pretenses, tanked the economy, and got his ass handed to him on live TV by Kanye West. She was one of the earliest celebrity critics of the Iraq War, and threatened to move to France if Bush was re-elected.

Well, it seems Sarandon will finally get her revenge—on the small screen.

The star of films like The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Thelma & Louise, and The Client is about to begin shooting a new television series in New Mexico, Graves. Created by Joshua Michael Stern (no relation), the 10-episode show is set to premiere fall 2016 on Epix, and will be the network’s first original comedy. Sarandon will play Margaret Graves, the wife of a disgraced U.S. president (Nick Nolte) who has a “come-to-Jesus” moment and decides to go out and repair the damage he’s done 20 years after leaving the Oval Office. Meanwhile, Mrs. Graves flirts with realizing her own political ambitions.

According to Sarandon, the Nolte character is based on none other than George W. Bush. “He’s Bush,” she tells The Daily Beast. “He’s the ex-Republican president who ruined the country, did everything wrong, and wakes up one day and realizes that he fucked up. I’m his wife, and we started out as populist Republicans and, as it happens, got chewed up. So now he’s going through this big thing. Eventually, they ask me to run for the Senate because I’m like the Michelle Obama—a very popular First Lady. And there’s a crazy candidate, like a Trump, and they want me to shoot him down, so I have to decide whether or not I want to run.”

Graves will be both a political satire and a comedy of familial dysfunction, since the Graves family isn’t exactly the most stable former First Family.

“We have two kids—one’s coming back from Afghanistan, and the other just tried to torch her house because her husband was fucking around,” says Sarandon.

The actress, who’s turned in a bunch of cameos and recurring parts over the years on television shows like Friends, Chappelle’s Show, 30 Rock, and Louie, confesses to having been hesitant about joining the TV ranks, but couldn’t pass on such an excellent script.  

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” she says. “Hopefully it’s funny. Nick’s part is fantastic—it’s just so Nick. I’ve said no to TV so many times, but this one sounded so intriguing.”

Death Row Inmate Thanks Sarandon For Her Help

By Ian Woods, Senior News Correspondent

A death row prisoner who is facing execution in six weeks has spoken live on Sky News to thank the Hollywood actress who is supporting his campaign.

Richard Glossip phoned from Oklahoma State Penitentiary after hearing Susan Sarandon had been interviewed on Sky and said he was "clearly innocent". 

The actress won an Oscar for her role in Dead Man Walking, in which she played a nun who accompanies prisoners to the death chamber.

Glossip, who was convicted of hiring a colleague to kill their boss, has always maintained his innocence.

Susan Sarandon: 'Richard's case is so typical'

He was convicted largely on the testimony of the man who carried out the killing, Justin Sneed, who received a prison sentence rather than the death penalty.

Glossip told Sky News: "I'm truly happy that Susan Sarandon is speaking out for me. 

Video: Supreme Court Ruling 'Not A Shock'

"It's really crazy that it's gotten to this point. She can see for herself that this is truly a case of an innocent man who is going to be executed. 

"And I couldn’t ask for a better person to stand up and speak out for me, and I'm glad that she has and I hope that she'll continue to do so. 

"For some reason Governor (Mary) Fallin is not looking at it the way that she should be looking at it. 

"She should be looking at the fact that an innocent man is about to be executed and she should be doing everything in her power to stop that from happening."

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, Sarandon said Glossip's scheduled execution shows everything that is wrong with the death penalty in America.

She also described the Oklahoma governor as a "horrible person" for refusing to intervene.

Glossip has been on death row for 17 years and has exhausted all appeals, including to the US Supreme Court.

Sarandon told Sky News: "Richard's case is so typical. Bad representation; two trials that were ridiculous, no physical evidence.

"He's put there by a snitch who actually did kill the person, and then the snitch has life and this guy is being put to death on the 16th (September).

Video: Jan: Glossip Murder Case Explained

"Once a mistake has been made within a judicial system, people just do not want to admit that mistake has been made and it becomes impossible to readdress them.

"And the only thing now that is going to give him a chance to survive is public opinion - is public embarrassment."

The actress is urging people to write to Mary Fallin, asking her to intervene and grant a stay of execution.

So far she has refused to do so and rejected Sky News' requests for an interview about the case.

"The governor of Oklahoma is just a horrible person, and a woman, so it's even more discouraging," Sarandon said.

The Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has also declined to be interviewed, but his office issued a statement.

"A jury has twice convicted and sentenced Richard Glossip in the murder of Barry Van Treese.

"Glossip has challenged his conviction all the way to the US Supreme Court, exhausting all appeals, and has been unsuccessful at each challenge.

"The attorney general's office will continue its work to protect the state’s ability to ensure the sentence handed down by a jury can be carried out so that after nearly 20 years, justice can be served for the family of Barry Van Treese."

Jonathan Bricklin on Ex Susan Sarandon: 'I Love Her More Than Anyone'

"It's fair to say that we are broken up, but I love her madly and I think she loves me a great deal." 
That's how Jonathan Bricklin, 37, described the current status of his relationship to Susan Sarandon, 68, in an interview with PEOPLE Now. 
Bricklin and Sarandon star in the AOL reality series Connected. It debuts Tuesday, and while reports have alleged the stress of filming Connected ended their six-year relationship, Bricklin said that's not the case. 
"We weren't broken up [during filming] because we were still seeing each other," he told the New York Post's Page Six. "She's someone I love more than anyone I've ever been with and that won't change. We're going to figure out how life proceeds from here." 

Keep up with your favorite celebs in the pages of PEOPLE Magazine by subscribing now.

This show brought out a lot of stuff in me," he also told the outlet. "This process was like psychotherapy with video. It added challenges to a relationship. And because she's so public, there were lots of challenges having a relationship with her to begin with." 
Produced by Morgan Spurlock, the reality series focuses on six New Yorkers who film their lives over a period of six months. 
Bricklin also told Page Six that over the course of the relationship, he sensed a general perception that he wasn't good enough for Sarandon. He bristled at being called Sarandon's "boy toy" despite the couple's 31-year age difference. 
"I wasn't a backup dancer for Madonna," he said. "She's not dating some young male model that could look pretty in tabloid pictures." 
Could the couple ever get back together? Definitely maybe, Bricklin tells PEOPLE Now. 
"We're going to be in each other's lives one way or another," he said. "I wouldn't rule it out. I still enjoy her company more than anyone's." 

Richard Glossip death penalty case takes another turn

Richard Glossip was pacing back and forth in his death cell Wednesday afternoon wearing only his boxer shorts and waiting to hear whether the Supreme Court would step in and postpone his execution.

The 3 p.m. execution deadline came and went and he heard nothing. But later, a prison guard appeared, asked him to wrap himself in a sheet and took him back to his regular cell with no explanation, Glossip told two of his lawyers.

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin surprised everyone by calling off the execution with minutes to spare because the state Department of Corrections had legal questions about one of the drugs. Was it the wrong drug?

Glossip's fate took another twist on Thursday, when Oklahoma Attorney General E. Scott Pruitt asked for all scheduled executions to be suspended indefinitely so that his office could investigate the Oklahoma Department of Corrections acquisition of a drug "contrary to protocol."

Glossip's story -- which has been embraced by supporters including Sister Helen Prejean and Hollywood activists like Susan Sarandon -- is the latest indicator that the death penalty is at a serious crossroads in the country as public support is at a 40 year low, states are having difficulty carrying out executions while opponents, most recently Pope Francis, urge for its abolition.

Because Glossip has been on the verge of execution before, he has ordered three "last meals" on separate occasions, another of his lawyers, Dale Baich, said in an interview.

Last Tuesday night, Glossip asked for a Wendy's "Baconator" sandwich, Long John Silver fish and chips and a pizza from Domino's, according to one of his lawyers, Don Knight. Since Domino's had a two for one deal, he shared the food with his guards who had to get special approval to partake.

RELATED: Pope Francis and the future of the death penalty

By Wednesday morning —the day of his execution, Glossip had a long discussion with Knight on the phone.

"He told us we had done a great job," Knight said later. The legal team had filed an innocence claim based on new information questioning the veracity of the main witness against Glossip. That witness, Justin Sneed, had actually carried out the murder of Barry Van Treese, but he later testified that Glossip was the mastermind of the murder plot. Glossip's lawyers allege that in return for his testimony, Sneed got life in prison instead of the death penalty.

According to Knight, Glossip told him that he was at least satisfied that his lawyers had shown the public that he was innocent even if the claim was rejected by the courts. "He said he was so happy that if he were put to death, he wouldn't be executed with people thinking he did it, " Knight said.

After the phone call ended, Knight stood outside of the prison with Glossip's family. When they learned that the Supreme Court had denied the request for stay, their hopes plummeted. "We knew at that point our chances in court were over. I had to tell the family, that we were done, we didn't have any more bullets in our gun so to speak," Knight said.

And then, as the family mourned, and the deadline passed, they heard someone shout out that Fallin had issued a stay.

"We were all gobsmacked," Knight said. They read a statement from the Governor saying she was postponing the execution for 37 days to "address legal questions raised today about Oklahoma's execution protocols."

The next sentence was a real puzzler. "The stay will give the Department of Corrections and its attorneys the opportunity to determine whether potassium acetate is compliant with the state's court-approved execution."

After talking to a relieved Glossip, the lawyers left the prison still wondering what potassium acetate was.