Tanya Roberts Not Dead, Boyfriend Was Wrongly Informed of Her Death

On Sunday, numerous sources reported that Tanya Roberts, who starred in the James Bond film A View to Kill and in the popular series That ’70s Show, had died at 65. However, a day after those reports emerged, TMZ reported that Roberts is still alive, even though her reps confirmed that she had passed. Her representative previously said that the actor died on Sunday at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after reportedly collapsing at her home on Christmas Eve. She was reportedly transported to the hospital and placed on a ventilator as she was struggling to breathe. But, her longtime partner, Lance O’Brien, shared that she had not tested positive for COVID-19.

Roberts’ representative, Mike Pingel, was informed by her partner, O’Brien, that she died while receiving treatment at the hospital. He also told friends of the family that she had passed away, as he genuinely believed that she was dead, per Pingel. TMZ even obtained a quote from O’Brien in response to Robert’s passing, which read, “As I held her in her last moments, she opened her eyes.” Pingel told TMZ that O’Brien received a call at around 10 a.m. local time from the hospital informing him that the actor was still alive. Interestingly enough, during an interview with Inside Edition, O’Brien received that call from the hospital, and the outlet was able to capture his reaction to the shocking news.

In the video, O’Brien can be heard saying over the phone, “Now, you’re telling me that she’s alive? Oh, thank the Lord. Thank God.” The interviewer then asked him to clarify what was going on, to which O’Brien responded, through tears, “The hospital’s telling me she’s alive. And they’re calling me from the ICU.” He was, quite understandably, very emotional in the video upon hearing the news that his partner was still alive.

At various moments during the interview, he broke down in tears and expressed his joy over the news that Roberts was alive. Roberts’ boyfriend said that she was experiencing problems with her liver function when she was hospitalized. He said that he could not be by her side in the hospital due to COVID-19 protocols. However, he was able to be with her when he was under the impression that she would soon pass away.