NEWSSuzanne Somers' Widower Alan Hamel Says She Gave Him Her Blessing to 'Not Mope' Around as He Confirms 'Wonderful' New Romance With Joanna Cassidy
Suzanne Somers' widower, Alan Hamel, is now in a new romance with Joanna Cassidy.
Alan Hamel is opening up about his new romance — and it’s one Suzanne Somers would’ve totally approved of.
The former talk show host confirmed he’s dating actress Joanna Cassidy, adding that his late wife gave him her blessing to find happiness again before she passed away in October 2023 after a long battle with b----- cancer.
Alan Hamel said Suzanne Somers gave him her blessing to move on.
“When it was clear that Suzanne was not going to recover in the final days of her life on this planet, before she crossed over, she said to me, ‘I don't want you to mope around after I'm gone,’” Hamel recalled.
“I actually never heard the expression ‘mope around’ before. I said, ‘So you mean I shouldn't sit at home and feel sorry for myself?’ She said, ‘I want you to live your life. You have a great life. You have a great family. You have great friends. I want you to live your life,’” he added.
The film producer is now dating his late wife's former 'Hollywood Wives' costar Joanna Cassidy.
Turns out, Cassidy wasn’t just a new love interest — she was someone Somers actually worked with. The two actresses costarred in the 1985 miniseries Hollywood Wives, where Cassidy played Marilee Gray, while Somers portrayed Gina Germaine.
Hamel said the two women “got along great” as Somers liked Cassidy “a lot” and both shared a similar no-nonsense attitude.
“She’d be very happy that I'm happy. Absolutely, yeah. She wanted that,” he said of his late wife. “Our relationship was based on each of us making the other one happy.”
The two reconnected after Alan Hamel’s son ran into Joanna Cassidy at a screening.
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Their connection goes even further back — all the way to the ‘70s — when Cassidy was a guest on The Alan Hamel Show. They reconnected years later while filming Hollywood Wives, but it wasn’t until recently that something more blossomed.
“I knew her professionally, mostly professionally,” Hamel said of the actress. “I was very aware of her career, and her career blew me away, but I didn't know her personally at all, and so it's been a series of discovery on both our parts, and we really enjoy being together.”
“She and Suzanne spent quite a bit of time together during the production of that miniseries, and I was there a lot, almost every day, and so we reconnected and that was it, period,” he continued.
Fast forward to 2025, when Hamel’s son, Stephen Hamel, ran into Joanna at a film screening.
“He mentioned to her that he thought she and his dad, that's me, would get along,” Alan shared.
Suzanne Somers and Joanna Cassidy were friends and got along well on set.
“She said, 'Who's your dad?’ Stephen did not know that I had a relationship with her going back the ‘70s. And when he mentioned his dad is Alan Hamel, she said, ‘I know Alan. Of course, I'd love to see Alan.’ So that was the beginning, and we've dated a few times since then, and she’s great … We have a lot in common, and we've had a good time dating, and that's kind of where we are,” he gushed.
As for where this new chapter may lead, the film producer isn’t rushing things.
“I don't know where the relationship is going,” he shared. “I just know that at this very moment, it's wonderful, and the reality is that as the foundational material for a relationship. It should go on for a long time, being wonderful.”
People interviewed Alan.
