Suzanne Somers’ widower Alan Hamel has confirmed he is dating her former co-star, less than two years after her death.
On Monday the entertainer, 88, was spotted arm-in-arm with 79-year-old Joanna Cassidy, who starred alongside Suzanne on the 1985 miniseries Hollywood Wives, in Malibu.
‘I don’t know where this relationship is going,’ he told Page Six of the new romance.
And he told the outlet he’s known Cassidy for more than four decades.
‘Joanna was a guest star on [daytime talk show] The Alan Hamel Show in Canada in the 70s. She was a great guest and it was a dynamic show, and we liked each other, not romantically, but mainly with respect. Both of us were married at the time,’ Hamel recalled.
Somers died on October 15, 2023 at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer.
Suzanne Somers’ widower Alan Hamel has confirmed he is dating her former co-star, less than two years after her death; pictured in 2019
On Monday the 88-year-old entertainer was spotted arm-in-arm with 79-year-old Joanna Cassidy in Malibu
Alan went on to explain that he and Joanna met again while she filmed Hollywood Wives with Suzanne.
‘I ran into her in the mid-80s many times during the production of Jackie Collins’ Hollywood Wives. It was very cordial,’ the television host said.
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Suzanne Somers' widower Alan Hamel finds comfort with her Hollywood Wives co-star Joanna Cassidy
He credits his son Stephen Hamel with bringing them together this time around.
‘My son met Joanna at a screening and after a long conversation suggested to Joanna that she and me would get along and should meet,’ he said, clarifying, that his son didn’t know they already knew each other.
Alan noted that his late wife Suzanne encouraged him to move forward with his life in her final days.
He said she told him, ‘Don’t mope around. Live your life. We will see one another after you cross over.’
The Canadian producer went on to describe his current partner as ‘extremely accomplished’ and ‘easily the hardest-working and most active actress in Hollywood for well over 50 years.’
‘She’s a great mother to her adult children, turns up for many fundraisers for first responders and is staff for her four cats. She is no Hollywood BS, and we laugh a lot,’ he raved.
Cassidy starred alongside Suzanne on the 1985 miniseries Hollywood Wives
Hollywood Wives cast L-R: Candice Bergen, Suzanne Somers, Stefanie Powers, Joanna Cassidy, Frances Bergen, Angie Dickinson, Catherine Mary Stewart, Mary Crosby
Somers died on October 15, 2023 at the age of 76 after a battle with cancer; pictured in 2017
He continued: ‘I’m fortunate to have Joanna in my life. Most men would love to have a Joanna in their life.’
Putting things into perspective, and remembering his spouse, he added, ‘I do not know where this relationship is going, but what I do know is that being in the cocktail hour of my life, I am blessed with a — thanks to incredible Suzanne — a privileged life, and our business that we created 50 years ago.’
Hamel spoke with Daily Mail last October to mark the one-year anniversary of Somers’ death.
‘Missing Suzanne is probably not a powerful enough word because for the past 55 years we didn’t even spend one hour apart,’ he said. ‘It’s heartbreaking.’
He added, ‘Suzanne and I were so close that she said when I wasn’t in the room she would miss me and I would miss her too — even though we were in the same house.
‘We would actually go to sleep holding each other’s hands which was so special to me.’