'Grateful for our years together': Kirstie Alley's ex-husband Parker Stevenson shares touching tribute
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: The entire entertainment industry went into shock after it was announced that ‘Cheers’ star Kirstie Alley died at the age of 71 following a long battle with cancer. The news of her death was confirmed in a statement by her children, True and Lillie Parker, on social media, which noted that the late actress was surrounded by her loved ones when she passed away. Since then, a lot of her co-stars, including John Travolta, and admirers have shared heart-touching tributes on several social media platforms, and the newest name to join the bandwagon is none other than Parker Stevenson, the ex-husband of Alley.
Stevenson, who is known for his roles in ‘The Hardy Boys’ and ‘Baywatch’, shared a touching tribute on his official Instagram account and shared a throwback photo of the duo in which they can be seen posing for the camera with big smiles on their faces. Along with the photos, Stevenson noted that he is really “grateful” for the time he got to spend with her when they were married to each other. The actor concluded his post by saying that the actress will be dearly “missed”.
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He wrote, “Dear Kirstie, I am so grateful for our years together and for the two incredibly beautiful children and now grandchildren that we have. You will be missed. With love, Parker.”
According to People, Steven and Alley met each other at a bar where the ‘Drop Dead Gorgeous’ failed to recognize him as one of the main cast members from ‘The Hardy Boys’. It is reported that they began their relationship in the early 1980s, following her marriage to Bob Alley from 1970 to 1977. The duo dated each other for a brief amount of time and married each other on December 22, 1983.
However, the couple went through some hard times in their marriage. In 1990, it was revealed that Alley suffered a miscarriage when she was only three months pregnant. In her book ‘How to Lose Your Ass & Regain Your Life: Reluctant Confessions of a Big-Butted Star’, the actress stated that she couldn’t stop grieving after getting the news of a miscarriage and was convinced that she was “still pregnant” because of her weight.
She wrote, “When the baby was gone, I just didn’t really get over it. Neither did my body. I so thoroughly convinced my body that it was still pregnant after nine months that I had milk coming from my breasts. I was still fat, I was still grieving, and I had just been told it was very possible I would never be able to have children.”
After the news of the miscarriage, the couple decided to adopt a son William True in October 1992, and in 1995, they adopted a daughter Lillie. However, their marriage ended in a messy divorce in 1997. Even after the divorce, the couple stayed in touch with each other and Alley kept on saying that there was “no infidelity” in their marriage. In an interview given to Entertainment Weekly (via Closer Weekly), Alley said, “There was no infidelity in my marriage, on either side. There was nothing other than maybe different goals in life.”
The ex-couple went on to become grandparents in 2016 when their son True welcomed his first child, a son named Waylon Tripp Barker. On the other hand, in May 2021, the duo once again became grandparents after Lillie welcomed her first child, a son named Rip Woodrow Graham.
Apart from Stevenson, Alley's closest friend John Travolta also shared a touching tribute earlier in the day and noted that his 'Look Who's Talking' co-star was one of the most “special” people he knew and shared a special relationship with her. He also shared a couple of photos of Alley on his official Instagram account. He wrote, "Kirstie was one of the most special relationships I’ve ever had. I love you Kirstie. I know we will see each other again."