Patrick Stewart mourned his “practically nonexistent” relationship with his two children three years before his death at age 86.
The X-Men icon shared son Daniel, 59, also an actor, and daughter Sophie, 54, with his first wife, Sheila Falconer, but was largely estranged from them in his final years, he told the Irish Independent in 2023.
“Given that I’m separated from my children now — we don’t have relationships — they have become very important,” he said of his relationship with his children at the time. “I never thought that this would happen, but both my children are in their 50s, they’re not children anymore; they’re adults. And my relationship with them is practically nonexistent.”
Stewart said the estrangement had caused him “significant grief, yes,” adding, “There’s not a day that goes by that I’m not pained by the memory of my children, who they were and by a sense of responsibility that they became who they are in part because of me and my influence or lack of influence on them.”
He added, “I always put my acting work first, before my family.”
In his 2023 memoir, Making It So: A Memoir, the Star Trek: The Next Generation actor reflected on cheating on his first two wives. He was married to Falconer from 1966 to 1990 and film producer Wendy Neuss from 2000 to 2003.
“I had cheated on my wife with a younger woman — again — and there is no getting around that,” he wrote. “I needed to do better by the women with whom I was romantically involved. In a life chockablock with joy and success, my two failed marriages are my greatest regret.”
Stewart married his third wife, singer Sunny Ozell, in 2013.
“She is an absolutely sensational individual. I’m in love with her, I’m impressed by her,” he gushed to the Irish Independent. “She provides me with so much support and help, which I try to return as best that I can. But I’m so fortunate that I’m in, well, I don’t mean to say at the end of my life because I hope that’s not where I am and I don’t want to be melodramatic, but her contribution to my life has been extraordinary.”
Stewart’s spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, confirmed his death at age 86 on Thursday, October 29.
“[Patrick experienced] a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia,” Novak said. “He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all. We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.”
Stewart will next posthumously appear in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, released in December, reprising his role as X-Men character Professor Charles Xavier.
