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Liam Neeson Reveals He Is Not Open to Dating at 72, Details Life After Natasha Richardson’s Death
Liam Neeson had a rather simple answer when he was recently asked if he was interested in dating at the age of 72.
“No, in a word. I’m past all that,” he told People in an interview published on Wednesday, October 23.
From 1994 to 2009, the Taken actor was married to Natasha Richardson. They welcomed two kids together, son Micheál Neeson in 1995, and Daniel Neeson in 1996. The family was left devastated by Natasha’s death in 2009 after she suffered a brain hemorrhage following a fall on a ski trip.
“It was a horrible thing to happen,” Liam told the outlet, noting that his biggest priority was making sure his kids “were OK.”
He praised Natasha’s mom, Vanessa Redgrave, and her sister, Joely Richardson, for stepping up to help him raise Micheál, 29, and Daniel, 28, after they lost their mom.
“Everybody just pulled together. Vanessa and Joely were extraordinary,” the dad of two said. “We were fortunate in lots of ways.”
Liam opened up for the first time about Natasha’s death in February 2014 on 60 Minutes with Anderson Cooper.
“I was told she was brain dead. And seeing this X-ray it was, like, ‘Wow.’ But obviously she was on life support and stuff,” he remembered. “And I went in to her and told her I loved her. Said, ‘Sweetie, you’re not coming back from this. You’ve banged your head. It’s – I don’t know if you can hear me, but that’s – this is what’s gone down. And we’re bringing ya back to New York. All your family and friends will come.’ And that was more or less it.”
Liam also explained that he and Natasha “made a pact” if “any of us got into a vegetative state that we’d pull the plug.”
“Grief’s like — it hits you. It’s like a wave,” he said during the appearance. “You just get this profound feeling of instability. You feel like a three-legged table. Just suddenly … the Earth isn’t stable anymore. And then it passes and becomes more infrequent, but I still get it sometimes.”
The Star Wars actor explained that he filled his schedule with work as a way to manage his grief.
“I’m not good without work,” Liam admitted. “I just don’t – I just don’t wallow too much. … And I just didn’t want to — especially for my boys — seem to be wallowing in sadness or depression.”
In March 2017, Liam reunited with the cast of Love Actually to celebrate the film 14 years later. He reflected on how much his life has changed since starring in the 2003 rom-com.
“It’s 14 years ago now and we’ve all lived lives. Some of us have died. Oh, my dear old friend Alan Rickman, God rest him,” he told Entertainment Weekly at the time. “Some have gotten divorced. I’ve lost my wife.”
“And, oh, sure, plenty of times I’ve thought about this film and my own life,” the Ireland native shared. “Love Actually, that’s the way it is. That’s the tapestry of life.”
Now, Micheál is following in his parents’ footsteps as an actor. He and Liam shared the screen in 2020’s Made in Italy.
“I think Natasha would be proud. I hope so,” Liam reflected during his recent interview with People.
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