Ryan O’Neal’s Final Act Of Love For Farrah Fawcett Is Recalled On The 10th Anniversary Of Her Death
Farrah Fawcett found a soulmate in Ryan O’Neal. Now, 40 years after they fell in love, O’Neal is remembering the beloved Charlie’s Angels star on the 10th anniversary of her death. In an interview with People, Ryan O’Neal recalled his feelings for the superstar actress that he fell in love with in 1979, when she was still married to Six Millon Dollar Man star Lee Majors.
“There was never a day I didn’t love her,” O’Neal said.
Indeed, Farrah’s close friend Sylvia Dorsey said that despite the couple’s sometimes volatile relationship, Ryan O’Neal was Farrah Fawcett’s soulmate.
“Ryan was the love of her life. I don’t think she was happy without him. They fought and loved with passion. It was never boring. They were electric together.”
Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal split in 1997 after 18 years together, but they reconciled four years later when O’Neal was diagnosed with leukemia. The couple stayed together through O’Neal’s remission and then were hit with the devastating news of Farrah’s cancer diagnosis.
During the final days of her life, Ryan O’Neal lovingly slept in a cot by Farrah Fawcett’s side at St. John’s Medical Center in Los Angeles. Fawcett’s good friend, Mela Murphy, said the actor talked a lot while they camped out in the hospital, and when he recounted the story of the first time he and Farrah met, the ailing actress rolled her eyes and smiled.
10 Years After Farrah Fawcett Died, Ryan O'Neal Says, 'There Was Never a Day I Didn't Love Her' https://t.co/CKe1o3IBo3
— People (@people) June 20, 2019
While Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal never married, the two shared a son, Redmond. O’Neal ultimately proposed marriage to Farrah when she was in the hospital, just a few weeks before she died. Longtime friend Alana Stewart told People that Farrah accepted Ryan’s proposal and would have married him had she survived her cancer battle.
“The two of them had a deep bond and deep love. No matter what they went through, the ups and downs, he was the one she wanted by her side.”
Farrah Fawcett passed away on June 25, 2009, as Ryan O’Neal held her hand.
After Farrah Fawcett died, her longtime love made sure to honor her heartbreaking final request, Murphy told People.
“The one thing she told me was she wanted her mother’s ashes in the coffin. Her mother meant so much to her. So Ryan made sure they were brought over from Texas. That was Farrah. She always thought about the people she loved.”
Farrah’s mother, Pauline Fawcett, died in 2005 at age 91, just four years before her daughter.
Fawcett passed away at age 62 after going public with her cancer battle. Her final days with O’Neal were chronicled in the heartbreaking TV documentary, Farrah’s Story, which aired on NBC shortly before her death.
