Entertainment

Debbie Reynolds Didn't Think She Could 'Survive' Outliving Carrie Fisher

by Hope Schreiber
REX/Shutterstock

On Tuesday, Carrie Fisher died suddenly due to cardiac arrest.

Just one day later, her mother and iconic actress Debbie Reynolds suffered a fatal stroke.

Carrie's brother Todd said after their mother's passing,

She wanted to be with Carrie.

In a joint 2011 interview with Oprah Winfrey, the "Singin' in the Rain" actress said that there were times she feared her daughter's drug and alcohol addiction would take her life. She said,

There have been a few times when I thought I was going to lose Carrie. I've had to walk through a lot of my tears. But she's worth it.
REX/Shutterstock

Sadly, it seems that Reynolds predicted that she would outlive her daughter in her 2013 autobiography "Unsinkable." She wrote,

It's not natural to outlive your child. This has always been my greatest fear.

Reynolds added that she didn't know if she would be able to live after the heartbreak of losing a child. She added,

Too many mothers have lost their children, for thousands of different reasons. I don't know if I could survive that.

The "Unsinkable Molly Brown" actress was 84 years old and had a number of health problems in the past few years, but it sounds completely possible that she may have died of a broken heart, which grief experts say can happen.

In her memoir, Reynolds revealed she previously had a mini-stroke and partial kidney failure. When she was awarded an honorary Oscar in 2015, she was too sick to attend.

REX/Shutterstock

Carrie talked about her mother's health and how scary it is to see her so frail on NPR this fall. She said,

It's a lot of times terrifying, but watching my mother, who's incredibly resilient, coping with certain health issues that she's had.

The stress from losing the "Star Wars" princess could have easily factored into her death. Before she had her stroke, she and Todd were making plans for Carrie's funeral.

Carrie Fisher was 60 years old. Fisher and Reynolds are survived by Todd Fisher and Carrie's daughter Billie Lourd.

Citations: Debbie Reynolds Once Wrote Her 'Greatest Fear' Was Outliving Carrie Fisher: 'I Don't Know If I Could Survive That' (Perez Hilton)