As far as we know howard hughes had exactly one fulfilling romantic relationship in his life, and that relationship took place in the pages of clifford irving's fake autobiography. Irving forged his wife's swiss passport in the name of helga r hughes, so she could cash checues made out to h r hughes. This is not true. Irving made this up. He also gives hughes a friend as well, another obvious invention, because the real hughes didn't exactly have friends. So they pick the most dead, most famous person they can think of, ernest hammingway. The occasion arose just after the war, some time in the winter