![Barbara Eden opens up about the loss of her son](https://doyouremember.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Barbara-Eden-opens-up-about-the-loss-of-her-son-702x367.jpg)
I Dream of Jeannie star Barbara Eden opened up about the loss of her son. Matthew Ansara was the only child of Barbara and her ex-husband Michael Ansara. Matthew was only 35 when he passed away in 2001 from an accidental drug overdose.
At the time, Matthew was an actor, fitness trainer, and was preparing for his upcoming wedding. Barbara said, “Youโre gonna make me cryโฆ I have his pictures around. I[I] donโt pretend like he never was. Because he was [a] super, super human being. [He was] a beautiful young man.โ
Barbara Eden opens up about the loss of her son
![Barbara Eden, and her son, Matthew Ansara, ca. 1968 (photo by Ivan Nagy)](https://doyouremember.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/barbara-eden-son-scaled.jpg)
Barbara said for a long time she would talk to other parents about drugs and the dangers of accidental overdoses. She admitted she didnโt know about his drug addiction until it was perhaps too late. She said Matthew fought to get clean but it was very difficult.
Barbara admitted, “For a long time, I would go out and talk to parents about drugs, and the use of them and what to doโฆ because I think a lot of people, we were totally ignorant, we had no idea what was going on. โฆ [My mom] didnโt go into my drawers. I didnโt go into hers, and all that kind of thing. You open those drawers. You know what theyโre doing every minute. I thought I did. But I didnโt know. And I think if we had known sooner, we could have dealt with it. We didnโt know until he was in college.”