After their first pregnancy ended in a miscarriage, he turned to alcohol for comfort. This, in turn, caused his marriage to end.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published on November 4, 2021. It has since been updated.
As much as we try to live our lives without regrets, it's not always possible. Like us, even celebrities have regrets, though it seems impossible. You see, Patrick Swayze had always wanted to be a father, and the fact that he couldn't be one was his biggest regret in life.
The Dirty Dancing star met his wife, Lisa Niemi when they were both teens, and they were sure they were meant for each other. Though they didn't hit it off immediately, they were attracted to each other. I mean, what's meant to be will always find its way. Though he liked her a lot, none of his usual charm that could make other ladies swoon, worked on her.
Swayze, however, felt like he didn't have a chance with her in an interview with PEOPLE. “For a long time, I didn’t feel like I deserved her.”
But they made it work and ended up tying the knot on 12 June 1975. Now that they were man and wife, the Dirty Dancing star wanted nothing more than to start a family with her.
In 1990, he was overjoyed when his wife became pregnant. But their happiness was short-lived as the pregnancy ended in a miscarriage and Swayze was shattered.
“It broke his heart. He wanted to be a dad more than anything. He had skills, knowledge, kindness, and love – everything a child would want,” recalled Swayze’s long-time friend and bodyguard Frank Whiteley. Despite the agonizing news, the actor once said, "I was born to be a dad," according to Closer magazine.
Soon, he turned to alcohol for comfort. The unexpected death of his sister too contributed to his misery. In 2003, the couple couldn't sustain their marriage due to such issues. But, Swayze went to rehab, and once he was out, he reconciled with his love.
“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,” said Niemi, to Woman Magazine.
Unfortunately, in 2007, Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Neimi was by his side throughout his battle, but two years later, he passed away. The grieving widow said, "My regret is that I didn’t tell him that I loved him enough over that entire 34 years."
However, before he passed away, they tried to make up for the lost time. "We told each other we loved each other over and over again. I never left the room without telling him. It still didn’t feel like enough," she said.
Despite his death in 2009, Niemi still texts him whenever she travels. "I just put what I always did: 'I love you.' And then I cried for a little bit to myself. It [the text message] didn't come back. So either somewhere out there received it, or someone's going, 'Somebody loves me!' And you know what? I figured it was a win-win situation," said Niemi, according to ABC News.
We all want things we can't have, and that is human nature, but sometimes life can be really unfair to us.
References:
http://dirty-dancing-analysis.blogspot.com/2018/10/patrick-swayze-i-was-born-to-be-dad.html
https://www.goodto.com/woman-magazine
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Photo by Carlo Allegri
