Fay Maltese was married to the Academy-Award winner Gene Hackman for more than three decades. She gained fame after her husband made his breakthrough in the movie industry and was in the spotlight.
Maltese married the American actor when he was a struggling actor. It is reported that Gene Hackman allowed his sudden success and wealth to interfere in their marriage.
Maltese worked as a clerk but she was better known as a celebrity wife.
Who is Fay Maltese?
Fay Maltese was born in 1929 in the United States. Her ex-husband on the other hand was born Eugene Allen Hackman on January 30, 1930, in San Bernardino to Eugene Ezra Hackman and Anna Lyda Elizabeth. He had only one brother Richard.
She came to the spotlight after her husband became famous in the movie industry so details about her early life and background are still under wraps.
Her marriage with Gene Hackman
The retired actor met his ex-wife while he was sharing an apartment with two of his friends, Dustin Hoffman and Robert Duvall. Maltese was working as a secretary at a bank in Rockefeller Center at Y.M.C.A. dance.
After dating for a year, Hackman and Maltese married on January 1st 1956. The new couple lived happily in a tiny walk-up, it was all they could afford at that time.
Fay Maltese stood by Gene Hackman while he was struggling with his acting career. She was working in a New York bank so she supported the family in every way.
Hackman started to gain success but it was at the detriment of his relationship with his wife and family. He started spending too much time away from his family.
Their marriage looked perfect until the mid-1980s.
Children
Fay Maltese and her Gene Hackman had three children: two daughters Elizabeth Jean and Leslie Anne Hackman and a son Christopher Allen. All her children are living a very low-key life as there is little or no information about them. Maltese’s children are said to be in their sixties now.
Fay Maltese and Gene Hackman divorced after three decades
Gene Hackman’s success came with a price. He would spend more than four months away from his family. The marriage continued to suffer crisis and succeeded for 30 years through a series of reconciliations.
Coincidentally, Hackman played a role of a middle-aged man who left his family the same year he and his wife finally divorced in 1986.
Despite how things were rocky with Maltese, Hackman found a new and promising love in the arms of a Hawaiian-born classic pianist Betsy Arakawa.
Hackman met Arakawa at a California gym he frequented at that time. Even though Arakawa was 30 years younger than Hackman, they fell in love and a few years later, the lovebirds made their relationship official by tying the knots in 1991. His children would visit him and his new wife during the holiday.
Hackman’s wife is said to be one year older than his son Christopher.
Where is she now?
Fay Maltese was nowhere to be seen after she and the actor parted ways. She was probably focused on raising her three kids while her ex-husband was focused on his career and newfound love.
Nothing was heard of Fay Maltese until her death in 2017. She died at the age of 88. Her cause of death still remains a mystery as well.
Gene Hackman, on the other hand, retired from acting in 2004 at the age of 74 and moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico with his second wife, Betsy Arakawa. The latter does not have any children with the retired actor yet but she is the stepmother to his children.
He revealed how he has deep regrets for having a distant relationship with his son when he needed his support and guidance.
Throughout his career in acting, Hackman received two Academy Awards, four Golden Globes, one Screen Actors Guild Award, and two BAFTAs.
As a novelist, Gene Hackman wrote three historical fiction novels: Wake of the Perdido Star (1999), Justice for None (2004), and Escape from Andersonville.
Also, it is said that Maltese’s ex-husband is a supporter of the Democratic Party and was proud to be included on Nixon’s Enemies List.
Gene Hackman has long reconciled with his three children and they share a cordial bond. He is now very close to his children and grandchildren.
At the age of 92, Gene Hackman still has good health. There are reports that he was riding his bicycle in the Florida Keys and got struck by a car. He is said to be in good shape now and remains an active bicyclist at the age of 92.
Aside from being a handyman, Gene Hackman does yard work. He also paints and sketches from time to time.
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