For 36 years Gene Hackman was married to Betsy Arakawa, a classical musician whom he met in the late 1980s. They married in 1991, when Betsy was 31 and Gene 61, and lived together in their Santa Fe home in the New Mexico desert. Betsy and Gene kept their marriage private, with Betsy making only several public appearances with Gene during the early years of their marriage.
When he retired from Hollywood in the early 2000s so did Betsy, although at home she continued to be his editor when he moved into novel writing. Their last picture was taken on March 28, 2024, with the then-94-year-old looking somber as he left the Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center of New Mexico with Betsy by his side. Gene was walking with a cane by that point, and the appointment lasted a little over an hour before they left and went for a dinner date.
Betsy, who played the piano for many years professionally, was 62 and looked chic in jeans, brown heeled boots and a button-up southwestern-style shirt. Gene kept his look casual in a plaid shirt tucked into hiking pants. Together they walked with the ease of a couple comfortable with each other, with Betsy staying close to Gene and at one point offering him a guiding arm in case he needed it.
Following their dinner, Gene reportedly enjoyed a long evening drive by himself through the desert, which he had called home for decades. See Gene Hackman's $3.8m Santa Fe home Gene previously lived in Montecito, California but bought 12 acres of land north of Santa Fe.
