PATTI SMITH DISCUSSES HER ROMANCE WITH ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Patti Smith says even as her boyfriend, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, struggled with his sexuality, he still wanted to date her. Smith tells “Tavis Smiley” on PBS she and Mapplethorpe started dating in 1967 when they were 20 and it was “a very classic, traditional relationship.” She says after about a year and a half, he couldn’t suppress his feelings any more. They didn’t fight about it as much as sit and cry with each other. She says they split up and he explored “all aspects of his desires,” but he wanted to get back together with her. Smith says they did for about a year but “he was who he was.” Smith’s interview runs on PBS beginning Friday. She’s promoting her book, “Just Kids.”