“My wife, Janet, was running down the corridor, and I was on a gurney being wheeled in, and I looked up and saw her face," Sheen said recalling his time at the hospital.
It was love at first sight for veteran actor Martin Sheen when he first saw Janet Templeton. The pair has been through highs and lows in life as Janet stood by Sheen’s side when he faced a severe health scare as well. According to Closer Weekly, Sheen suffered a heart attack at the age of 37 while he was filming Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now in the Philippines. “There was a struggle to get me to a hospital because we were in a remote area of the jungle,” he revealed to the outlet in November 2016. “My wife, Janet, was running down the corridor, and I was on a gurney being wheeled in, and I looked up and saw her face. She leaned down and whispered, ‘It’s only a movie, babe. Please, it’s only a movie,’” the actor said. Janet also provided him with care and helped him through his recovery journey when the actor underwent a quadruple-bypass heart surgery in December 2015.
Martin Sheen and his wife Janet, who’ve been married since 1961. ✨ pic.twitter.com/zv7AdgBcrE
— morgan 🍂 (@flynnsfancy) January 2, 2018
The pair tied the knot way back in 1961 and celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary on December 23, 2022. Sheen opened up about their long-sustaining marriage in front of his son Ramon Estevez and the general audience at an event. "I was fortunate enough and smart enough to fall for her," the actor admitted. Sheen also said that “it took him two decades to realize what he had" with Janet.
"It took me about 20 years to realize that I was leading a dishonest life and that she was my idol. She was free, and I thought, 'I want to be like that.' It was like, 'Wow, I want to come up to her level now,' and that made all the difference," he added.
According to Rolling Stone, the Badlands actor's health was affected by the pressure he endured on the sets of Apocalypse Now. A crew member working on the sets of the film revealed director Coppola’s unusual way of pushing the actor to their limits. "He would tell Martin, 'You're evil. I want all the evil, the violence, the hatred in you to come out.' Francis did a dangerous and terrible thing."
Due to the stress of a demanding role, Sheen suffered a cardiac arrest and nervous breakdown soon after but he, fortunately, had his wife by his side. "I completely fell apart. My spirit was exposed. I cried, and I cried. I turned completely gray. I was in intensive care. Janet slept on the floor beside me," he recalled, as per the outlet.
It's safe to say that love between Janet and Sheen has not faded yet. Sheen and his wife had celebrated their 60th anniversary last year and their son Emilio and his girlfriend Jacquie had set up a cozy “private restaurant” near the fireplace at their home. The couple had four children in the long course of their marriage which includes their eldest son Emilio, born in May 1962, their second son, Ramon Estevez, born in August 1963, and their third son, Charlie Sheen, who arrived in September 1965. Their youngest child, daughter Renee Estevez, was born in April 1967.
References:
https://www.closerweekly.com/posts/martin-sheens-wife-janet-sheen-job-marriage-details/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoosKAl4EA4
Cover Image Source: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images
