Lisa Niemi has opened up in a deeply emotional new interview about the enduring bond she shares with her late husband, revealing that nearly 17 years after his death, she still speaks to him every day.
The widow of Patrick Swayze, who died in 2009 following a battle with pancreatic cancer, shared that maintaining a spiritual connection with him has helped ease the profound loneliness she felt after losing the love of her life.
“I still feel him with me every day, and hear what he would say to me about certain things. It’s great,” she told US weekly. “I talk to him, I feel him. I hear his voice in my head. He gives me advice, and I am absolutely certain that he is there whenever I need him.”
Lisa, who was married to the Dirty Dancing star for 34 years, described their relationship as the foundation of her adult life, making his loss all the more devastating.
“Patrick and I were married for 34 years and I pretty much spent my entire adult life with him,” she explained. “To be without that meaningful relationship was very hard and extremely lonely. I was much lonelier than I would have admitted at that time.”
The couple’s journey through illness was, as Lisa described, nothing short of an “instant nightmare.” Patrick was diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in January 2008, and from the outset, they were acutely aware of the gravity of the situation.
© WireImage“When the doctor left the room, he turned to me and said, ‘I’m a dead man,’” she recalled. “He knew something about pancreatic cancer… he knew that it was almost a death sentence.”
Despite the grim prognosis, the couple faced the battle head-on. “We pledged to fight this with everything we have,” she said, though she admitted they both understood the likely outcome.
After Patrick’s death in September 2009, Lisa was left navigating overwhelming grief. In the years since, she has found comfort in keeping his memory alive, surrounding herself with photographs and continuing to feel his presence in her daily life.
© Getty Images“Oh, yeah, I do. Because he knows I still care, and how much I care,” she said of speaking to him.
Now living on a horse ranch in Florida with her second husband, jeweller Albert DePrisco, whom she married in 2014, Lisa says Patrick remains a constant presence in her world, not as a source of pain, but of quiet strength and guidance.
She has also channelled her experience into advocacy work, supporting organisations such as the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, which hosts its annual PurpleStride event on May 25.
© CBS via Getty ImagesReflecting on the period of Patrick’s illness, Lisa admitted she neglected her own wellbeing while caring for him.
“I kept everything down outside of me because I was being strong for him. It was the biggest battle of my life,” she said. Even small moments of respite, like browsing for a T-shirt during a rare break, became her only form of self-care.
“I didn’t do enough of it, and I should have done a lot more and gotten a lot more support,” she added.
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