Lisa Niemi Shares Haunting Memories As She Reflects On Her Late Husband Patrick Swayze

Oct 05, 2023

American actor, dancer, singer, and songwriter Patrick Swayze is remembered for his leading roles in films such as "Road House," "Point Break," and many more. Swayze was known for his handsome features and was considered a heartthrob. He was named People's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991. 

In 1952, Swayze was born in Houston, Texas, and lived there until he was 20-years-old. His mother was Patsy Swayze, a choreographer and dance instructor. The talented actor studied classical ballet as well as martial arts while in high school. He also played football until he suffered a knee injury that forced him to stop. 

The star began his entertainment career as a dancer and went on to perform on Broadway before gracing the silver screen. He received many accolades for his acting, including three Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical. In 1997, Swayze was honored with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

It's hard to believe that this legendary actor passed away more than a decade ago. A star even before "Dirty Dancing" and "Ghost," Swayze will forever be in our hearts. Unfortunately, Swayze died on September 14, 2009, after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. His loving wife of 34 years, Lisa Niemi, was by his side the entire time.

The couple met when they were teenagers and got married in 1975. This was four years before Swayze made his film debut in a roller disco film known as "Skatetown, USA." The lovebirds were together until Swayze passed away. However, in 2014, Niemi took a “leap of faith” and remarried. In an interview on the same year, Niemi confessed that Swayze communicated with her through a dream. 

On June 1975, Swayze married Niemi and they became one of the most enduring couples in all of Hollywood at the time. 

Sadly, there came a time when the grief was too much for Swayze – his father and sister died while Niemi suffered a miscarriage. Heartbroken, Swayze’s bodyguard said in a New Idea interview in 2019 that the actor “wanted to be a dad more than anything.” In a Closer Magazine interview back then, Swayze said that he was “born to be a dad,” highlighting his distress on Niemi’s miscarriage in 1990. 

Thankfully, they moved past that and went on to become childless. Legendary television host Barbara Walters described the couple’s relationship to be “extraordinary.” 

“The way he looked at her, the way he held on to her, the way she smiled., I can’t really imagine one without the other,” Walters said.

However, in New Year’s Eve 2008, Swayze experienced something he never experienced before. 

“I tried to have champagne… and it would be like pouring acid, you know, on an open wound, and then my indigestion issues got gigantic and constant, and then I started thinkin’, ‘I’m gettin’ skinny.’” she explained to Walters, as quoted by Access in 2009. 

Then, Swayze dropped 20 pounds instantly. Eventually, Swayze was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Niemi talked to Entertainment Tonight about how awful it was to watch her husband fight the disease.

"It's the worst thing in the world to go through, you spend every day fighting for that person's life," she said. "I know that he spent every day fighting for his own ... He survived 22 months, which was miraculous with the diagnosis that he received."

Swayze succumbed to pancreatic cancer on September 14, 2009. 

When the the documentary "I Am Patrick Swayze" came out on August 2019, Niemi revealed that at one point, she asked Swayze about the idea of adoption since she could not conceive children naturally. 

“I had been seeing an acupuncturist for a long time, and then all of a sudden I was too old,” she said at the time. “I probably should have been better informed about to go about it, but anyway I may have wasted some time. But you know I said ‘you know, how would you feel about adopting?’ He got very teary-eyed and he said ‘I want to have children with you.’”

Swayze’s manager, Kate Edwards, also told the documentary that the actor “very much wanted to be a father because I think he wanted to be as good a father to his child as his dad had been to him.” 

Swayze’s brother, Don, also mentioned that as much as his brother wanted to be a father, he would have “never wanted Lisa feeling bad for having miscarriages, but it crushed him, so they tried.”

After his death in September 2009, the outpouring of love from his famous friends only confirmed just how wonderful a person he was. Jennifer Grey, Swayze's co-star in “Dirty Dancing,” said, as reported by Entertainment Weekly:

"Patrick was a rare and beautiful combination of raw masculinity and amazing grace," she said. "Gorgeous and strong, he was a real cowboy with a tender heart."

Meanwhile, Whoopi Goldberg said of her “Ghost” co-star: "Patrick was a really good man, a funny man and one to whom I owe much that I can’t ever repay. I believe in ‘Ghost‘s’ message, so he’ll always be near.”

Swayze was survived by Niemi, who although remarried in 2014 to jeweler Albert DePrisco, admits that her love for Swayze will likely never cease. 

She told People Magazine in 2014 how her love for both men was never in conflict until DePrisco asked her to marry him. She was puzzled at the time, but ultimately she took a "leap of faith" and decided to do so, telling the magazine:

"Albert knew I still loved Patrick and would always love him, and told me, 'and I know you love me, and I love you.' How could I not marry this man? 

Nonetheless, Niemi's love and dedication to Swayze are still there. She frequently posts about him on her social media and on Sept. 14, 2020, 11 years after his death, she shared a touching post on Instagram:

"Celebrating a wonderfully strong, sensitive & special man on the 11th anniversary of his passing. So missed. Can't help but feel a dark cloud today (and all last week!) 😥, but grateful for what we had together. 🌈 What a journey! Blessed, even with the tears."

Daily Mail cited Niemi's story where she talks about Swayze's last words before he slipped into a coma from her memoir. She wrote: "My last words to Patrick? 'I love you,' and those were his last words to me."

In the same People Magazine interview, Niemi confessed that she has communicated with his late husband from the afterlife. 

"About a month and a half ago, I had a dream about Patrick," she said at the time. "It was like he was giving me his blessing and letting me know it was okay. Again, it can be hard sometimes to take those steps forward, but it doesn't change the way we feel about someone. He was letting me know that."

Are you a fan of Patrick Swayze? What can you say about his story as a husband, an actor, and as an aspiring father? What can you say about Lisa Niemi’s love for her late husband? Let us know, and pass this on to your family and friends!