Gene Hackman and his wife Betsy Arakawa’s tragic passing rocked the world in February, and the investigation that followed left many with more questions than answers.
It has now been revealed that Gene passed away from heart disease, just days after his 65-year-old wife died of hantavirus, a rare illness spread by rodents.
The reclusive couple lived out their days together in their Santa Fe home, with Betsy working hard to care for her husband in his twilight years.
Speaking to the New York Times, Gene’s longtime friend Tom Allin revealed what their marriage was really like, painting a sweet picture of devotion and care.
He shared that the actor “seemed happy” for his wife to “run things” while she organized his medical appointments and ensured he stayed as fit and healthy as possible.
“She was very protective of him,” Tom said, adding that Gene would have passed “long ago” without Betsy’s care.
“She just really looked after him,” he continued, sharing that the classical pianist even made sure to dilute his wine glass with soda water during his 90th birthday party.
Betsy would also encourage him to see his friends and was “something of a gatekeeper” as she organized his social calendar.
The couple first met in the ’80s when Betsy worked part-time at the gym that gene frequented. Sparks flew between them, and they retreated to Santa Fe in 1989 to maintain their privacy.
© Getty ImagesThe pair tied the knot in 1991, five years after Gene split from his first wife, Faye Maltese, with whom he shares three children. Following his retirement from acting in 2004, they lived quietly in their gated community, raising dogs and venturing out to see friends.
“Last time we saw them, they were alive and well,” said their friend, Daniel Lenihan, whose wife, Barbara, had seen the pair shopping just weeks before their death.
“They were so delightful to be around,” she told CNN. “Probably never seen a couple that got along and enjoyed each other so much.”
© WireImageThey added that Betsy always encouraged Gene to exercise in his old age, and “had him doing yoga and different things at home on Zoom and trying to stay very fit.”
“Betsy was a wonderful wife. They were very close, and she was a good cook and really, really took good care of him,” Daniel said.
“They ate very well. He had had a triple bypass, maybe around 60 [years old], and he’d been in really good health since then, and I’m sure she was one of those factors.”
© Getty ImagesGene had been living with heart disease and advanced Alzheimer’s, according to the autopsy report, and passed away six days after his wife.
Betsy was found in the bathroom with her thyroid medication scattered around her, while Gene had fallen in the mud room and failed to get back up again.
One of the couple’s three dogs, an Australian kelpie named Zinna, was found dead in its crate, while pups Bear and Nikita were found safe inside the home.
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