Patrick Swayze met the love of his life, Lisa Niemi, when they were just teenagers. The two were married from 1979 until the actor died in 2009. Though the start of their marriage was like a dream come true, it was missing one thing – a child. And we just found out the reason why they never had one.
The Sad News That Broke The Couple’s Heart
In 1990, Patrick Swayze was overjoyed when his wife became pregnant. However, their happiness was short-lived. The couple was hit with the sad news of miscarriage, and Swayze was totally heartbroken. After all, he wanted to be a dad more than anything.
During the Paramount Network documentary, I Am Patrick Swayze aired last year, Lisa Niemi has revealed that “both of us loved kids and always intended to have kids. I did become pregnant, but I had a miscarriage.”
She added, “Who knew that miscarriages were as painful as they are, emotionally painful. It was very heartbreaking.”
“I couldn’t wait to become a dad, to have a child with this woman I loved so dearly,” Swayze wrote in The Time of My Life and how the miscarriage made him felt like he was “crushed with grief” from the loss. “And I wanted to be the best father I could be – the kind of father my dad had been to me.”
“We figured we had plenty more years ahead of us. Eventually, we did start trying again, hoping Lisa would get pregnant,” he writes. “But, she never did.”
Lisa Niemi said they kept trying to conceive before she knew it, she was “too old” to get pregnant again, which crushed her and her husband. She brought up the possibility of adoption, which led to an emotional response from Swayze.
“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,'” Lisa recalled.
The brokenhearted actor eventually turned to alcohol for relief. What’s even worse was that his sister unexpectedly died too, adding to his misery. These issues have affected the couple’s marriage that they decided to go separate ways in 2003. However, after coming out of rehab, Patrick Swayze reconciled with the love of his life.
“No relationship is perfect, you hang in there, and you don’t give up. And of course, you are going to have bad times. I would be with Patrick a million times over if I could — warts and all,” Lisa Niemi said, recalling their tough days.
However, the couple was put to another test in 2007. This time, the actor was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Lisa Niemi stood by him and cared for him, but after two years of battling the illness, Patrick Swayze passed away.
He Was Born To Be A Dad
Patrick Swayze long-time friend and bodyguard, Frank Whiteley, described the actor as someone who “had skills, knowledge, kindness, and love – everything a child would want.” Even Patrick’s brother, Don Swayze, could tell that “he would have been a great dad. Just as an uncle, you could see it, you could see the amazing dad he would be.”
It’s disheartening that the happy couple never had the chance to raise little ones. Luckily, they were able to find something else to help fill the void.
“He was daddy to all the animals on the ranch, those were like our kids,” Lisa says. “There’s a lot of love to give. It’s wonderful to have all these wonderful little beings around to give it to. That’s where it went.”
We’re happy to know that Patrick Swayze and Lisa Niemi still had plenty of love around them.
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Lisa Niemi, Patrick Swayze