Days after her unexpected death, hours shy of her 77th birthday, Suzanne Somers’ husband, Alan Hamel, detailed the moments before her death. The Three’s Company star suffered from breast cancer for many years, and she announced its recurrence in July. She had just returned from a six-week stay with specialists in Chicago days before her birthday party.
Alan and Somers spent the night together before she was confirmed dead the next morning. “We were in bed together and her breathing was erratic, and I had been talking to her for hours. There was no response except when I kissed her, she responded, and then around 5 o’clock in the morning, she was gone,” he told NBC News.
Alan thought Somers was okay
While there were concerns about her health, Alan thought she was feeling better after she arrived from Chicago. “She was eating and was, you know, taking her medicine. All of a sudden she wasn’t responding, and she wasn’t eating and she wasn’t taking her meds,” he recalled, adding that he considered calling for help. “… I knew that she wouldn’t want that and that she did not want to go to a hospital.”
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Her family also expected to wake up to a birthday party but were instead met with the tragic news. “Her family was gathered to celebrate her 77th birthday on October 16th. Instead, they will celebrate her extraordinary life and want to thank her millions of fans and followers who loved her dearly,” her publicist wrote.
Alan was present with her until the end
Alan, who has been married to Somers since 1977, admitted he was grateful to have witnessed her last moments. “I was grateful that I was with her when she left us, and it was very peaceful and it was beautiful. And she was beautiful,” he stated, noting that he was not at all surprised. Alan also gifted her peonies and a heartfelt poem as an early birthday gift, which she loved very much.
He also thanked her for keeping the family close as an “amazing wife and an amazing mother.” “She’s the one who pulled our family together. I didn’t do it. She did it, and she really knew what she was doing. So, I will miss her,” he added.