Gene Hackman’s wife was protective of his health for years. She died of hantavirus and days later, he was gone

For years, actor Gene Hackman’s doting wife Betsy Arakawa would do whatever she could to help keep him healthy, whether it meant wearing a mask everywhere she went or encouraging him to stay fit by riding his bike or doing yoga on Zoom.

For years, actor Gene Hackman’s doting wife Betsy Arakawa would do whatever she could to help keep him healthy, whether it meant wearing a mask everywhere she went or encouraging him to stay fit by riding his bike or doing yoga on Zoom. In late February, the couple was found dead in their New Mexico home, a heartrending end to the life they shared. Arakawa, 65, died of hantavirus and days later, Hackman, 95, died of heart disease, the New Mexico medical investigator’s office revealed Friday. Authorities, working to lay out a timeline of what happened, said Hackman had Alzheimer’s disease and may have not realized he was alone in the days before he died. Clues as to what the couple’s life looked like before their tragic deaths could be gleamed from their last interactions with loved ones. Close and longtime friends of the couple say they seemed to be in good health at their most recent encounter. “Last time we saw them, they were alive and well,” Daniel Lenihan told CNN’s Erin Burnett last week. Barbara, Lenihan’s wife, said she had last seen Arakawa a few weeks ago at a home decor shop the two had opened together in Santa Fe. “They were so delightful to be around,” Barbara said, adding how proud Hackman and Arakawa were of each other. “Probably never seen a couple that got along and enjoyed each other so much.”