Gene Hackman’s wife Betsy Arakawa is the reason he didn’t die ‘long ago’, friend says: ‘She just really looked after him’

nypost.com:

The New York Times of Arakawa, who was seemingly the Oscar-winner’s sole caretaker prior to his shocking death. Maintenance workers discovered Hackman and his wife’s bodies at the couple’s Santa Fe, New Mexico home on February 26 after they were unable to get in touch with the couple.

Allin, who was shared a 20-year-long-friendship with Hackman, recalled Hackman once telling him that he would have died “long ago” without Arakawa taking care of making sure he maintained a healthy diet.“She just really looked after him,” he said of the concert pianist, remembering how at Hackman’s 90th birthday part in January 2020, shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic, he saw Arakawa mixing soda water into the actor’s wine.

He also mentioned that he could tell Hackman’s health was in decline. The couple had a yearly tradition in which Hackman would cook dinner for Arakawa’s birthday.

In 2023, she returned home anticipating a meal, but Hackman had forgotten their usual custom.In a press conference held Friday, officials revealed Hackman, 95, died from heart disease with advanced Alzheimers disease being a contributing factor.