Losing a close person or a family member is never easy, especially in the case of a partner or a spouse. They are supposed to be your confidante, someone you’re supposed to live with until the end of time. So, their death can take a huge toll on a person, and when it happens because of unnatural causes and by something which was completely avoidable, family members begin to blame themselves in grief. Loss is never easy to deal with, and bereaving a close one often renders people wondering different ‘What Ifs’. That is what happened with Canadian actor William Shatner who lost his wife Nerine Kidd.
William Shatner is best known for starring in ‘Star Trek‘. He married four times. But one of his marriages ended in grief as he found his wife Nerine Kidd dead just two years into the marriage. The actor was distraught by his then-wife’s death and felt guilty as he couldn’t prevent it. So, what happened to Nerine Kidd?
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How Did Nerine Kidd Die?
Nerine Kidd was actor William Shatner’s third wife. The couple married in November 1997 in Pasadena, California. Less than two years into the marriage, on August 9, 1999, Kidd was found dead in the swimming pool of their California home. Her body was discovered by her husband when he returned from a trip to Orange County the same night. Shatner dove into the pool and pulled Kidd out to resuscitate her but it failed.
As the paramedics also weren’t able to revive Kidd, she was declared dead. Kidd’s final autopsy report revealed that her death was caused by accidental drowning while intoxicated with alcohol. Her autopsy showed that Kidd had ingested sleeping pills and alcohol before she drowned. The alcohol levels in her body were reportedly three times over the legal limits.
The autopsy also revealed that Kidd’s body had bruises on her face as well as neck trauma. Kidd’s two collar vertebrae were also broken. The doctors hypothesized that Kidd might have dived into the pool under the influence of alcohol and hit her head on the floor of the swimming pool. This head trauma might have caused her to fall unconscious and subsequently drown. Police and doctors both ruled out the possibility of any kind of foul play.
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William Shatner’s Relationship With Kidd And The Aftermath Of Her Death
William Shatner married Nerine Kidd in November 1997 after dating for a couple of years. They met on the sets of ‘Kung Fu: The Legend Continues‘ in 1994. They started dating shortly after and married in a home in Pasadena, California. But their marriage was far from perfect. The two separated less than a year into their marriage. Shatner even filed for divorce in October 1998 but the couple then reconciled.
Nerine Kidd was also a person with alcohol use disorder which troubled Shatner. She was even arrested multiple times for driving under influence of alcohol. Even Shatner’s friends mentioned the problem to him. His friend and ‘Star Trek‘ co-star Leonard Nimoy also warned the actor about his wife’s condition. To this Shatner replied, “I know she is, but I love her.” To this Nimoy replied, “Well, Bill, then you are in for a rough ride.”
After Kidd’s death in 1999, William Shatner was distraught and the loss had shaken him. He wrote in his memoir how his then-wife’s death was the ‘lowest point’ in his life. He also confessed how he had suicidal thoughts after Kidd’s passing and how he still remembers the night very clearly as it haunts him. Shatner also wrote a song for Kidd in his 2004 album ‘Has Been’. The song named ‘What Have You Done’ chronicles his experience of the night of August 9, 1999.
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