It’s been two months since we reported that Suzanne Somers‘ widower Alan Hamel appeared to have found love again the Three’s Company actress’s former co-star Joanna Cassidy. Now, Hamel is speaking out to reveal that it was actually Somers’ final wish before her death that led him to find love again with Cassidy.
Hamel, 89, and Somers had been married for 46 years when she died in October of 2023 after a 23 year battle with breast cancer. Somers passed away just one day before what would have been her 77th birthday.
As Hamel was mourning Somers, he happened to run into Cassidy, who had been a guest on his talk show decades ago.
Cassidy, 80, and Somers had also starred together in the 1985 miniseries Hollywood Wives. The official log-line for the miniseries describes it as being “a three-part, six-hour adaptation of Jackie Collins’ book about a group of very wealthy, attractive, snobbish women who are caught up in the low life and high society of Hollywood.”
Hamel Feels Immediate ‘Connection’ With Cassidy
Hamel immediately felt drawn to Cassidy when he bumped into her after Somers’ death.
“There was that connection,” Hamel told Fox News. “And we’ve spent a lot of time being with each other, which is great. And I’m almost 10 years older than her, so I’m Joanna’s older man. She’s always wanted an older man. And I came along.”
“We have both been very active in the entertainment business most of our lives, so neither one of us has anything to prove,” he continued. “We’ve both relaxed into what I refer to as the cocktail hour of our lives.”
Hamel went on to admit that “it was odd” to start dating again after being in such a long and happy marriage. Though he had been married to Somers for 46 years, they’d been together for 55 at the time of her death.
“Suzanne and I used to go out on dates once a week, sometimes twice,” he recalled. “We’d get dressed up, go to a nice restaurant, order a nice bottle of wine, and sit there, enjoying the evening and each other. That went for 55 years, even before we were officially married. So, I was used to dating. I love dating. So, when I felt ready to date again, I did not want some gossip [magazine] saying, ‘Alan is now dating.’”
Somers’ Final Wish
Much to Hamel’s surprise, the connection with Cassidy was immediate. While some have questioned how Somers would feel about him dating one of her former co-stars, Hamel claims that this is exactly what she would have wanted. In fact, it was her final wish before her death.
“When we knew the end was near, she said to me, ‘Once I’m gone, I don’t want you to mope around,’” Hamel recalled. “’I want you to live your life.’ I told her OK. But then she looked at me and said, ‘I’m serious. I don’t want you to mope around.’ Again, I said OK.”
“When Suzanne passed, I was suddenly living alone,” he recounted. “But I have this incredible family. There’s not one dud among them – three kids and six grandkids. I see some of them weekly… And after Suzanne passed, they made sure I was never alone for the first two and a half months. We would sit around, tell stories about Suzanne, have all the big laughs, look back at photographs and hundreds of hours of tapes. It’s been wonderful… And along came Joanna. She has been my only date since she arrived on the scene, which I’m grateful for.”
Cassidy Weighs In
As for Cassidy, she feels a strong connection to Hamel as well. Indeed, for her, it’s a mystical romance.
“It was quite natural,” said Cassidy, who is best known for starring in Blade Runner. “I found myself falling into a place that felt very comfortable. I felt very much at ease, I think our first date lasted three days.”
Cassidy went on to express her belief that “energetically, you can draw the right people to you. I mostly don’t call Alan ‘Alan.’ I call him ‘Ah.’ It also happens to be his initials. It just seems like the right name for our mystical get-togetherness. And look, I was quite prepared to move along. I’ve lived alone for a long time. I’ve met people, but no one really floated my boat like Alan did. I just met him, and I went, ‘Wow, this is a solid connection. This is great.’”
In the end, Hamel is hoping his love story with Cassidy will inspire others who have lost their spouses to look for love again.
“If a relationship is long and happy, and suddenly your partner disappears, I think there can still be hope,” he concluded.
Cassidy was quick to agree.
“Don’t give up,” she said. “There are billions of people on the planet. It’s difficult to trust people. But I think if you stay in a very hopeful place and have positive thoughts, life can open up to you in unexpected ways.”
It certainly seems that Somers would indeed be supportive of her husband finding love again after her passing. We’d like to wish Hamel and Cassidy many years of happiness together to come!