Inside Gene Hackman's quiet life with pianist wife Betsy Arakawa

Hollywood star Gene Hackman was found dead alongside his wife of 34 years, Betsy Arakawa, at their home in Santa Fe on Wednesday.

The highly private couple married in 1991 after moving to their New Mexico home together in 1990.

Classically trained pianist Arakawa was 32 years her husband's junior, with two-time Oscar winner Hackman recently turning 95 and his wife aged 63.

They reportedly began dating in the mid-1980s after meeting at a gym in California.

Arakawa, who is believed to have been born in Hawaii, was pursuing a career in classical music at the time while working shifts in the gym.

Hackman later insisted that their relationship began after his divorce from his first wife Faye Maltese, who he was married to from 1956 to 1986.

Discussing what he had in common with his character Harry Mackenzie, who leaves his wife for a barmaid in the 1985 film Twice in a Lifetime, he told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: 'By the way, I did not leave my real-life wife for a younger woman. 

'We just drifted apart. We lost sight of each other. When you work in this business, marriage takes a great deal of work and love.'

Hackman and Maltese had three children together - Christopher Allen and daughters Leslie Anne and Elizabeth Jean - who Arakawa became stepmother to.

In 1990, the same year they moved in together, Hackman underwent angioplasty due to congestive heart failure.

This was part of his reason for retiring from making films, according to reports, and in 2008 he told Reuters: 'I haven't held a press conference to announce retirement, but yes, I'm not going to act any longer. I really don't want to do it any longer.'

The couple enjoyed a quiet life together at their Santa Fe mansion, with Hackman telling the Irish Independent: 'Where we live... you can lead your own life and not be bothered by the latest gossip.'

Their home, a formerly abandoned 1950s block building, was renovated to their specifications to make it 'light and soaring'.

It featured in Architectural Digest in 1990, and Hackman was said to have been involved with 'every aspect of the house,' allowing his spouse to take over when he was away filming.

They scheduled in regular date nights, often watching DVDs rented by Arakawa. 

'We like simple stories that some of the little low-budget films manage to produce,' Hackman told Empire in 2020.

'Friday night is set aside for a Comedy Channel marathon, with particular attention paid to Eddie Izzard,' the outlet reported.

The couple had a love for German Shepherds, at one point owning three after adopting one which wandered onto The Replacements fil set in 1999. 

The dog was taken to a local shelter, where it was named Gene after the star, before being adopted by him.

Tragically, one of their beloved dogs was found dead alongside the couple on Wednesday afternoon.

Local media has reported that no foul play is suspected in their deaths. 

Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza did not provide a cause of death, nor did he say when the couple might have died, when asked by local media. 

He was known for being a reclusive person, having not starred in a movie since 2004, when he played Monroe 'Eagle' Cole in the political satire Welcome to Mooseport. 

The actor was first propelled into the spotlight when he starred in Bonnie and Clyde in 1967, and he went on to star in a slew of beloved movies and TV shows like Superman, The French Connection and Get Shorty, to name a few. 

But in 2004, he announced that he was done being an actor. He packed up his things, left Los Angeles for the quiet of New Mexico - and he never looked back.

Some initially thought that the shocking decision had to do with his marriage. 

The Oscar-award winning actor actually quit acting because of the severe stress he was under, which became too much to handle after he started to have issues with his heart.

Last year, he and Betsy, a 63-year-old classical pianist, were seen out and about for the first time in two decades. 

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Gene Hackman dead at 95: Actor and wife are found dead at Santa Fe home

Hackman was spotted holding onto his wife's arm for balance as the pair grabbed a bite at Pappadeaux's Seafood Kitchen in Santa Fe, New Mexico. 

Before the dinner date, Hackman enjoyed a cup of coffee and some apple pie from a local Speedway store, according to the New York Post.

The couple's outing marks the first time they were seen together in public for 21 years, with the last time being at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards, where he won the Cecil B. deMille award.

The legendary two-time Oscar winner and his long-time partner seemed to be in a good mood as they left the restaurant together. 

He also explained his passion for writing novels, saying 'I like the loneliness of it, actually. It's similar in some ways to acting, but it's more private and I feel like I have more control over what I'm trying to say and do.'

'There's always a compromise in acting and in film, you work with so many people and everyone has an opinion. … I don't know that I like it better than acting, it's just different. I find it relaxing and comforting.'

In 2011, he was asked by GQ if he would ever come out of retirement to do one more film, to which Hackman responded: 'If I could do it in my own house, maybe, without them disturbing anything and just one or two people.'

He has not stayed completely away from the industry, however, as he has narrated two Marine Corps documentaries: The Unknown Flag Raiser of Iwo Jima (2016) and We, The Marines (2017).

Born in California on January 30 1930, the actor had enlisted in the army after lying about his age at 16, serving for four-and-a-half years. 

After moving back to California following his military service, he decided to pursue acting after briefly living in New York.