William Shatner had made a 'promise' to his wife hours before her tragic death

Movie star William Shatner told his wife he was leaving days before her tragic death back in 1999.

The Star Trek icon has been married four times, to Gloria Rand, Nerine Kidd, Marcy Lafferty and Elizabeth Shatner. However, William Shatner’s third wife tragically passed away in 1999, with the Hollywood star finding her in the swimming pool on that fateful night. The celebrity couple had tied the knot two years before.

William Shatner was told to leave his wife days before her death

The TV star told the National Enquirer days later he was advised to break up with his partner, who suffered with alcoholism.

William Shatner said he tried to help his wife with her issues with alcohol before her death, but failed.

He said at the time: “I fought and fought to save my wife from the serpent of alcoholism – but I failed.

“Nerine’s own psychiatrist told me that, for her own good, I should divorce her … [He] said, ‘If you love her, you have to leave her.’ “

On the night she passed away, the duo were having dinner at a restaurant, but Shatner claimed she secretly ordered vodka instead of cranberry juice.

The Captain James Kirk star said when they made a stop on the way home for “milk and eggs”, she bought alcohol instead and hid it.

He remembered she “chugged the entire bottle”, and had become drunk when she came up the stairs later that night. The couple were set to visit his daughter, Leslie, the following day. But the movie star didn’t want his wife “around children in that condition”, so went alone.

William Shatner says the last time he saw his wife in person before her death, she said to him: “Tell Leslie I love her, and tell her I found God”.

He called the house in the afternoon and said they would go horseback-riding the next day if she avoided alcohol. But when he returned to the Hollywood Hills home later that night, at around 10pm, he found Nerine in the pool. The star called police and began attempting to resuscitate her. However, tragically, when paramedics arrived, they pronounced her dead at the scene.

Star almost didn’t marry her because of alcohol

William Shatner told the paper he almost didn’t marry his third wife two years before her death because of the struggles she faced with the addiction.

However, the ex-model waned to tie the knot and for the two of them to try to beat her health problems together.

The celebrity said she tried going ‘cold turkey’, and by taking medication that made her sick if she drank alcohol. But that also failed.

He said: “But after eight weeks … she began secretly substituting the … pill with another white pill and then began drinking again.

“Nerine would hide bottles of alcohol all around the house where I couldn’t find them, and even hide her vodka in water bottles.”

It became too much for the couple, and Shatner filed for divorce, hoping the shock would help her with her addiction journey.

The star went into rehab twice for her health, but unfortunately, relapsed.

The 40-year-old grew paranoid, Shatner said, and was told by the psychiatrist to leave in a ‘tough love’ move.

Aspiring actress drowned

Autopsy results two months later noted the former model had been three times the legal limit for driving. It reported she had ingested sleeping pills the night she died.

Authorities believe William Shatner’s wife’s death came after she dove into the pool and hit her head on the bottom and sadly drowned.

At the time, the Los Angeles police department said there was no evidence of foul play.

“The totality of the whole investigation indicates an accident,” Coffey said. “Drinking was definitely a problem for her. Everyone knew she was an alcoholic. She just couldn’t beat her problem.”

William Shatner told the Morning Herald he spoke to Star Trek co-star Leonard Nimoy about his wife’s drinking before her death. The star explained Nimoy faced his own battles with alcohol while filming the iconic television show, who “tried desperately hard to help” Shatner and his wife.

He also formed a charity, Nerine Shatner Foundation, which has a halfway house where 11 women can live there for extra support.

If you’ve been affected by this story you can contact American Addiction Centers on (877) 686-7688. Or Talk To Frank on 0300 123 6600 in the UK.

William Shatner’s dating history

The 93-year-old has been married four times, meeting his first wife Gloria Rand and marrying her in 1956. They split 13 years later after having three daughters, Leslie, Lisabeth and Melanie.

But he felt guilty about being away working. He admitted in his 2008 memoir: “Admittedly, I wasn’t good at being married”.

When his career took off a few years after they wed, he felt she was left behind.

He wrote: “I was becoming a star; she was remaining my wife. And for an actor, the role of a star’s wife is not a very pleasant one to play.”

William then met Marcy Lafferty through the TV series The Anderson Trial in 1970. They hit it off after running lines together and married three years later. The Hawaii Five-O star was with William for almost two decades, they called it quits in 1996.

“The reality of some marriages is that over time, a husband and wife grow apart,” William later said. “Their needs and desires changed. Marcy realized that; in fact, she once told a reporter, ‘Life took us apart, and it was time to move on.’”

Star Trek actor met Nerine in a ‘hotel bar’

The Star Trek star would go on to meet Nerine Kidd “in the bar of a hotel” in Toronto, where he was meeting an old friend.

The Boston native had an ‘instant connection’ with Shatner, and he says he ‘worshipped’ her.

William Shatner wrote in his book about his wife, after her death: “I married Nerine against the advice of my family and friends. Against my own good sense. But I absolutely worshipped her, and I thought, stupidly, that I could heal her”.

He also told the Morning Herald: “Our wedding day was wonderful.

“Nerine was sober, and we went to bed that night ecstatic. I woke up the next morning at eight, and she was drunk. Later, I found she had hidden bottles of vodka all over the house.”

The movie star then met Elizabeth Anderson Martin through their shared love of horses. She had sent him a letter offering condolences after his wife died.

“She understood my grief because she had nursed her husband in cancer for a year and a half, who died about two years before Nerine died,” he told Larry King.

They tied the knot in 2001, however, then filed for divorce in 2020.

Despite the end of the relationship, he was still in good spirits, saying: “Nothing makes me sad at this age. … It’s all good here. It’s all good. I wish everyone well”.

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