Sam Neill’s health battles reportedly continued behind closed doors despite his cancer-free status.

The beloved actor, who battled a rare form of blood cancer, died on July 13 in Sydney, Australia. The cause of his death has not been revealed, but one of his exes claims his health had worsened in the weeks leading up to his passing. Sam Neill is survived by four children and at least eight grandkids.

Sam Neill Was Allegedly Ill In His Final Days

Laura Tingle, Neill’s ex-girlfriend, opened up about his final weeks in a new interview. She revealed her former flame was far from healthy, noting his years-long battle with cancer had taken its toll on him. She cited Neill’s chemotherapy and immunotherapy treatments as reasons for his frail health.

Tingle noted the treatments helped the late actor overcome his blood cancer battle; however, “that left him pretty compromised in terms of his immune system.” The journalist noted on the July 14 episode of ABC Radio Sydney’s “Sydney Mornings” program that Neill soon fell ill, saying:

“I think his poor old body sort of got a bit exhausted. He’s been pretty sick for the last couple of weeks.”

The Late Actor’s Ex Suspected He Wouldn’t Survive

Tingle continued that Neill’s deteriorating health left “everybody who loved him has been willing him on from near and far,” but her feelings were different. “I think it was just a bit too much to recover from one more time,” she confessed.

Although she suspected Neill wouldn’t survive another health crisis, it did not make his passing easier to stomach. The Blast reported that Tingle honored her ex-boyfriend’s memory with an emotional tribute on Instagram.

She shared a montage detailing their memories and scenes from the late actor’s life. “Sweet Dreams darling Sam,” Tingle captioned the video. Her namesake, Laura Dern, who played Neill’s on-screen love interest in “Jurassic Park,” gave a heartfelt statement about her “beloved lifetime friend.”

Inside The Logie Award Honoree’s Relationships

Before meeting Tingle, Neill was involved in two publicly known relationships. He met New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow while they were working on 1980’s “Omen III: The Final Conflict.” They welcomed a son named Tim in 1983 before splitting in 1989.

Hollywood Life reported that Harrow was sometimes referred to as Neill’s first wife, but the correct term was his longtime partner. On the other hand, his first wife was Japanese makeup artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he met while working on 1989’s “Dead Calm.”

They tied the knot in September 1989, with Neill adopting Watanabe’s daughter. The duo eventually welcomed their first child together, a daughter named Elena, in January 1991. The late entertainer’s marriage ended after nearly three decades in 2017.

Laura Tingle Was The Hollywood Veteran’s Last Known Partner

A year after his separation from Watanabe, the late actor’s romance with Tingle became public. They kept their relationship under wraps and separated in 2021, with Neill reflecting on their love in his 2023 memoir, “Did I Ever Tell You This?”

The entertainer revealed that he shared “three wonderful years” with Tingle and was thankful for their time together. The media personality was his last known relationship before his passing. Besides romance, Neill enjoyed life as a father and grandfather.

The Blast covered his fatherhood journey, reporting that the actor initially feared he wasn’t up to the task when his first child, a son named Andrew, was born. His past comments about his eldest child resurfaced following his death.

Sam Neill Gave His First Son Up For Adoption

Neill reflected on his past in a 2014 interview, explaining that he had been in his early 20s when he became a father for the first time. At the time, the responsibilities of caring for a child felt overwhelming as the Hollywood veteran wasn’t confident he could raise a son.

Due to these concerns, he chose to put Andrew up for adoption, a decision he implied he wouldn’t make if given a second chance. “You’re more capable than you think. If I could give my 20-year-old self any piece of advice, it would be that,” Neill said.

The TV personality eventually reunited with his son after not seeing him for 25 years. He noted their reunion was more mature than emotional. Besides having four kids, the deceased was the grandfather of at least eight grandkids, including a grandson named Nahlo and twins Molly and Popp.

Will Sam Neill’s family share more details about his final days?