At the start of her birth month, the late Suzanne Somers teased fans about the “many exciting things” happening ahead of her birthday. She posted a photo on Instagram asking her followers to join her Facebook live for “the REVEAL of this month’s SUZANNE Selects Box,” adding that she would be giving out a special gift.
Sadly, Somers died a day shy of 77 after a twenty-three-year battle with breast cancer. Her family has gathered at her home in Palm Springs, California, to celebrate; however, she did not make it for her day. “Suzanne was expecting to eat copious amounts of cake on her birthday, which is today,” her longtime publicist and friend, R. Couri Hay, told CNN on Monday.
She was “in a weakened state” before her passing
Hay reported that Somers showed signs of weakness the week before her birthday. There were rumors of her being in hospice care, which Hay termed “totally untrue,” adding, “Nobody thought she was going to pass away, it was unexpected. We’re not saying she was going to dance on the table. But no one expected her to go that night.”
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Her husband, Alan Hamel, also mentioned she had been with cancer specialists in Chicago three days before and seemed to feel better. “She was eating and was, you know, taking her medicine,” he said. “All of a sudden, she wasn’t responding and she wasn’t eating and she wasn’t taking her meds. As I know her so well, I thought, ‘I wonder if I should call 911?’ And I knew that she wouldn’t want that and that she did not want to go to a hospital.”
Somers’ husband wrote her a poem
Somers and Alan Hamel have been married for forty-six years after dating for years. Though the couple share no children together, they have a blended family of three children from their previous marriages. Alan reportedly read a poem to Somers the evening before she died, gifting her pink peonies as well.
Alan was by her side while she drew her last breath, and he recalled the moment while paying tribute to her on TV. “She was heavy breathing at the very end, and I gave her a pill to relax her breathing, but it didn’t work,” he told Today. “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.”