Gene Hackman's 'protective' wife helped actor find peace away from Hollywood during final days, friends say

One year after the deaths of Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy Arakawa, inside their quiet Santa Fe home, those closest to the couple are reflecting on the fiercely private life they shared — and the devotion that defined their final chapter.

Close friends and others in the community say dignity, love and privacy shaped nearly every aspect of the couple’s life in New Mexico and even influenced the circumstances surrounding their deaths.

Fly-fishing instructor Ivan Valdez, who owns The Reel Life in Santa Fe, told Fox News Digital about taking Hackman on his first guided trip after Arakawa arranged the outing.

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"We had a really fun time," Valdez said. "Once Gene got older in life, Betsy was really protective of him. Their public appearances out in town were just a lot fewer and far between … Gene was just conscious of his health, and so was Betsy, and she always was taking really good care of him."

Former Santa Fe Fire Chief Brian Moya told Fox News Digital that when crews arrived at the couple's Hyde Park residence last February, Hackman’s celebrity status was never the focus.

"For the most part, we held his dignity the same, and we made sure that we kept him at the highest regard," Moya said. "He was a humbled man. He wanted to make this his home. He didn’t just live here — he was part of the community."

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He added, "I think the takeaway should be remembering the movies he did and the life he lived. He enjoyed a very private life here in Santa Fe, but he enjoyed what Santa Fe had to offer."

On Feb. 26, 2025, Santa Fe County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the couple’s home on Old Sunset Trail around 1:45 p.m. that day. Hackman, 95, Arakawa, 64, and one of their dogs were found dead inside the residence.

Officials later confirmed Arakawa showed signs of advanced decomposition. The couple’s dog was discovered near her body in a bathroom closet. Two other dogs survived — one roaming the property and another found nearby.

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On March 7, authorities announced Hackman had died of hypertensive atherosclerosis cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease listed as a contributing factor. Arakawa died of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-borne illness, according to the New Mexico Department of Health.

For those who discovered them, the memory remains painful.

Jesse Kesler, Hackman’s personal contractor and friend of nearly two decades, said the experience caused him "trauma" that still lingers.

"Finding two people that you worked for for 17 years, that you cared about, people that treated you like gold, and knowing something was desperately wrong for two weeks and then finally going in and finding them … it was trauma, and it was brutal," Kesler, who is writing a book on his experience titled "Tears on Old Sunset Trail," to be released this summer, told Fox News Digital. 

"It was like a bad dream," he continued. "It was like I had stepped into a bad dream, not only just finding them, but the way it all played out at the scene, days afterwards. You know, being a possible suspect … it was so much emotion, and it was one of the toughest things I've ever had to deal with in my life, and it was tough, it's still tough."

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Kesler noted the couple’s commitment to privacy may have unintentionally delayed help.

"We knew something was desperately wrong," he admitted. "And to get in up there … you couldn't just show up."

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He said he "would have loved" to have been able to check in on the couple earlier, but "it didn't work like that."

Kesler explained, "You had to have permission to be on that property … The privacy thing did play a factor in taking so long for us getting them help."

That privacy defined their life together in Santa Fe.

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The couple’s devotion extended to their animals. At the time of their deaths, three dogs lived on the property. One was found dead near Arakawa; two survived.

Joey Padilla, owner of Santa Fe Tails, said one year later the surviving dogs are thriving.

"Both Bear and Nikki are doing very well," Padilla said. "Nikki's new mom is a saint and is being treated in a way that I know Gene and Betsy would be proud of. Bear is living in paradise and he has a best friend he plays with every day. His parents just absolutely adore him and they are such wonderful dog people."

Friends say the couple’s bond was unmistakable.

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Stephen Marshall, a longtime friend, described Hackman as "totally enamored" with his wife.

"You could just tell by the way he looked at her that he thought she was the world, and she treated him the same way," Marshall said.

"They were a true love story and a lasting love story. They were together a long time and that's something you don't see a lot, especially in the world they were in. But it wasn't just another Hollywood marriage. They were truly devoted to each other, the way she looked after him and the way he took care of her and the way they continued to entertain each other. You'd sit there at dinner and people would be telling stories, and it appeared every time that they considered each other the most interesting person in the room."

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Hackman, the two-time Oscar winner known for iconic roles in "The French Connection" and "Unforgiven," stepped away from acting in 2008.

"I’m not going to act any longer," he told Reuters at the time. "I really don’t want to do it any longer."

In retirement, he chose a quieter life — far from the spotlight — with the woman who fiercely protected him.

One year after their deaths, those closest to Hackman and Arakawa say their legacy is not defined by tragedy, but by devotion — a partnership rooted in privacy, dignity and a love story that endured long after Hollywood faded from view.