Inside Patrick Stewart's private life: From the star's 'regrets' over estrangement with his two children to his 13-year marriage to third wife Sunny Ozell

Sir Patrick Stewart had spoken about his complicated family life – including regretting his estrangement from his adult children – in the years before his death at 86.

Stewart, who passed away on Wednesday following a battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, told the Irish Independent in 2023 that he had experienced 'significant grief' over his estrangement from son Daniel, 59, and daughter Sophie, 54.

Stewart said: 'Given that I'm separated from my children now – we don't have relationships – they have become very important.'

The actor said that he was surprised and mired in regret over his 'non-existent' relationship with both of his children, who he welcomed during his decades-long marriage to ex-wife Sheila Falconer. The former couple were married from 1966 to 1990.

'I never thought this would happen, but both my children are in their 50s – they're not children anymore, they're adults,' Stewart said. 'And my relationship with them is practically non-existent.'

Stewart appeared to take responsibility for the state of the relationships, saying: 'I always put my acting work first, before my family.'

Stewart in the interview said that 'not a day goes by' he didn't regret the situation, as he was 'pained by the memory of [his] children' and 'who they were.'

He added he'd been upset by 'a sense of responsibility that they became who they are in part because of me and my influence or lack of influence on them.'

Stewart told the outlet that he 'could've done better as a parent, when [his] kids were little.'

'I was just obsessed with my work, and everything else took second place. I'm trying to correct that now whenever possible with my grandchildren. And my own children seem to have forgiven me,' he said.

Stewart also spoke about his relationships with Daniel and Sophie in his 2023 book Making It So, saying they were 'a work in progress.'

He wrote in the memoir: 'The hurt caused by my split with their mother has never fully gone away. I do get on wonderfully with their children – my four remarkable grandchildren, the eldest in his early twenties and the other three in their teens.'

Stewart was married three times: to Falconer from 1966 to 1990, to producer Wendy Neuss from 2000 to 2003, and to singer Sunny Ozell, to whom he had been wed since September of 2013.

Stewart and Ozell had crossed paths in 2008, when 'she was working as a waitress in a restaurant in Brooklyn,' he told People in a 2022 interview.

Stewart, who had been performing in Macbeth in Brooklyn at that time, said that they got to chatting after she said she'd 'wanted to see' the production.

'It was the only time in my life I've given someone my telephone number and said, "Call me, I can get a ticket,"' he said. 'And that's what we did. And she came backstage afterward and we had dinner and here we are.'

The two exchanged vows in Lake Tahoe in 2013, with Stewart's friend and colleague Ian McKellen officiating the proceedings.

At the time of their wedding, Stewart was 73, while Ozell, a jazz singer, was 35.

Ozell told The Daily Mail in 2015 of the age gap: 'He is so youthful and I guess I'm kind of an old worry wart so we bridge the gap. 

'It doesn't come up much. He's in better shape than me, which infuriates me.'

In a 2022 interview with People, Stewart spoke about his relationship with his spouse, saying: 'I've never met anyone like her before.'

He added: 'She is so smart and so informed. And her intellectual accomplishments are extraordinary. She remembers everything.'

Stewart's death at age 86 was confirmed in a statement published to his Instagram page on Thursday.

The statement read: 'We announce with great sorrow the passing of Sir Patrick Stewart yesterday at his home in Los Angeles, in the loving care of his beloved wife Sunny, following a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer's Disease and Lewy Body Dementia.'

'He has been held in the warm embrace of family and friends, surrounded by live music, prayer, tears, laughter, and the kind of profound emotion that only he could inspire after a lifetime of devotion to us all,' the statement revealed. 

'We will forever cherish the peaceful ease and reflection on his face, an enduring reminder of his invincible grace.'