On February 26, 2025, Gene Hackman and Betsy Arakawa, along with one of their dogs, were found dead at their New Mexico residence. Gene was 95, and Betsy was 64. The couple had been married for 34 years.
As per TMZ, though the families believe that it might be carbon monoxide poisoning behind their deaths, authorities suspect that it is somewhat suspicious because there has been the discovery of pills and also “no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
According to a search warrant that TMZ has obtained, “the death of the two deceased individuals to be suspicious enough in nature to require a thorough search and investigation because the reporting party found the front door of the residence unsecured and opened.”
The warrant further read, “Deputies observed a healthy dog running loose on the property, another healthy dog near the deceased female, a deceased dog laying 10-15 feet from the deceased female in a closet of the bathroom, the heater being moved, the pill bottle being opened and pills scattered next to the female, the male decedent being located in a separate room of the residence, and no obvious signs of a gas leak.”
Given the nature of their deaths, the investigation is still going on. Fans all over the world seem to be shocked by this unexpected turn of events, and a lot of attention is being given to Gene and Betsy’s relationship and how the couple met and continued a marriage all these years.
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It should be noted that Betsy Arakawa was Gene Hackman’s second wife. After his divorce from his first wife, Faye Maltese, in 1986, the veteran actor married Betsy in 1991. The couple had met at a gym where she was working part-time back in the 1980s. The two gradually developed feelings for each other, eventually leading to their marriage.
Given the huge age difference that Gene and Betsy had, questions were raised regarding Gene and his first marriage and whether he cheated on Faye. However, Gene had denied those allegations and mentioned to PEOPLE that his first marriage broke because they drifted apart and not because he cheated on Faye.
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Besides being a trained gym professional, Betsy Arakawa was also a professional piano player. Given how reclusive the couple was, it was very difficult to catch them together in public. Betsy clearly liked to live away from the limelight; therefore, despite being married to a huge Hollywood actor, they had kept their lives away from the prying eyes of the media.
The last time they were seen together in public was when they attended the 2023 Golden Globes where Gene was the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award.
Their choice of building a house in Santa Fe might have come from the same sense of privacy that they valued so much as Gene had told the Irish Independent, “Where we live, in Santa Fe, you can lead your own life and not be bothered by the latest gossip.
As the investigations are going on, it can be expected that the authorities would soon find the exact reason behind the sudden and tragic death of this beautiful couple.
