Patrick Swayze's Widow, Lisa Niemi, Engaged
The widow of "Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze has found love again.
Lisa Niemi, who was married to Swayze for 34 years and nursed him through his battle with pancreatic cancer, is engaged to jeweler Albert DePrisco.
A rep for Niemi, 57, confirmed the news to People magazine. DePrisco, 58, proposed to Niemi Christmas Eve after a year and a half of dating.
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The pair met through mutual friends at a birthday party for Niemi, according to People.
Niemi and Swayze's marriage was one of Hollywood's most enduring love affairs and began in Houston, where the two met at Swayze's mother's dance studio when he was 20 and she was just 15.
"He is supposed to have this big head, be a Casanova," Niemi told "GMA" co-anchor Robin Roberts in 2010 of their first encounter. "And we're like, 'I'm not going to let this guy get to me.'"
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"So, and of course, the first thing he did our first contact, was he pinched me on the rear as I was passing by and said, 'Hey cutie,'" Niemi recalled. "And so, of course, later on when he asked me out, I said yes."
The pair survived Swayze's rocket to stardom after "Dirty Dancing" and a year-long separation when Swayze was drinking.
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When the actor was diagnosed with the pancreatic cancer that would eventually cause his death, in 2009, Niemi stood by his side.
"I always knew Patrick was a tough guy," Niemi told Roberts. "I had no idea just how tough he really was."