Secret Heartache of Conan O'Brien

Globe Weekly �-- �December 5, 1995 �-- �Pg. 29

'It turned out all along that he was pining for Lisa Kudrow like a brokenhearted schoolboy'

Late Night star Conan O'Brien has turned to gal-pal Lynn Kaplan to help him mend the heart that Friends beauty Lisa Kudrow broke two years ago, say insiders.

The 32-year-old TV host was so shattered when old flame Lisa stomped out the door in 1993, he didn't even date another woman until Lynn Kaplan, say sources.

"Some colleagues had Conan pegged as either a closet gay or celibate," says a Late Night source. "His social life was hanging out with sidekick Andy Richter and the writers in some male-bonding thing."

But Conan finally made a startling confession at a staff party. "It turned out that all along he was pining for Lisa Kudrow like a brokenhearted schoolboy," adds the Late Night Source.

"They had a thing while he was a writer for The Simpsons and she was in an L.A. comedy troupe. But careers took their toll on the relationship. She called it quits.

"Conan shrugged sadly and said: 'Hey, come you lose, and some you lose.' He said he's made up his mind to avoid serious relationships until work wasn't going to wreck things all over again.

"He admitted he put his social life on the back burner to rake in some pay dirt!"

Now that the dust of the late-night wars has settled, it turns out Conan the Conqueror's laughing last.

Not only has NBC extended his run as he consistently KO's the competition, but his romance with Lynn, a talent coordinator on the show, has blossomed, insiders say.

"When he started dating Lynn, the scuttlebutt at the coffee machine was: 'Wow, Conan likes women after all! Who'd have thought it?'" laughs a show insider.

"What had been interpreted as celibacy or even homosexuality was no more than his pining for lost love, plus an incredible fear of failure that made him put his career over everything else in his life."

Insider sat fear made the former Saturday Night Live writer act like a real geek when he began hosting Late Night.

"Few of his colleagues could believe this nerdy guy was David Letterman's heir apparent," says another source.

"He's tall and skinny with bright red hair and a complexion that looks even pastier in real life.

"No one could figure out his sexual preference. Conan hit on women in an extremely geeky way. His idea of a pick up line was: 'Say, would you consider being the mother of my child?

"Then he'd jabber about why they'd find him physically repulsive, agree he'd be a lousy lover, and walk away.

"The poor girls were left shaking their head in bewilderment."

But once Lisa tied the knot with advertising executive Michel Stern, Conan turned over a new

leaf. Sources say he turned up the heat with Lynn and now she's helping to heal his hurtin' heart.

Says the show insider: "Everybody's happy to see Conan happy."

copyright: Globe Weekly