Inside Gene Hackman’s 34 year marriage to 2nd wife Betsy Arakawa with dates every Friday and first meeting in a gym

POLICE in Santa Fe have revealed that Hollywood star Gene Hackman has been found dead alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa, 63, and their dog. Gene and classical pianist wife Betsy had been married since 1991. Before this, the acting legend had tied the knot with Faye Maltese in 1956.

The couple had three children - one son and two daughters. They were married for three decades, divorcing in 1986. Gene and his wife Betsy were highly private as a couple, and moved to New Mexico together in 1990. It’s reported that the couple met at a gym the mid-1980s, and Gene has insisted that his romantic relationship with Betsy began after his divorce from his first wife.

He told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “By the way, I did not leave my real-life wife for a younger woman. “We just drifted apart. We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love.”. Gene and Betsy lived in a stunning home that featured in Architectural Digest in 1990, with the actor said to have been involved with “every aspect of the house.”.

The star opened up on their relationship in a rare moment, as he told Empire in 2020: “We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce.”. They couple liked to rent DVDs, and particularly enjoyed Friday nights watching Eddie Izzard and the Comedy Channel.

They also had a love for German Shepherds, at one point owning three of the breed, after adopting one in 1999. Gene and Betsy were found dead in their plush $3.8 million home on Wednesday. Cops have said there are no signs of foul play, per the Santa Fe New Mexican.

"All I can say is that we're in the middle of a preliminary death investigation, waiting on approval of a search warrant," Adan Mendoza, the Santa Fe County sheriff said. Police have not revealed a cause of death. The film legend wasn't often seen in public during his final years, but was snapped at a New Mexico fuel station in 2023.

He was sporting a casual look, wearing a baseball cap and blue jeans. A year later, Hackman and Betsy were seen grabbing some food at the restaurant Pappadeaux's in Santa Fe. The appearance came after he had marked his 94th birthday. Hackman also spent his final years writing novels - and two of his own were published in 2011 and 2013.

Floods of messages from fellow Hollywood stars have poured in to remember the acting legend and his special career. American actor George Takei said Gene's work "will live on forever". "We have lost one of the true giants of the screen. Gene Hackman could play anyone, and you could feel a whole life behind it," Takei said.

"He could be everyone and no one, a towering presence or an everyday Joe. That’s how powerful an actor he was.". The great filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who worked with Gene in the 1974 film The Conversation, remembered Gene as a "great actor". “The loss of a great artist, always cause for both mourning and celebration: Gene Hackman a great actor, inspiring and magnificent in his work and complexity," Coppola said.