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An AI replica of Suzanne Somers had a conversation with the late actress’ husband Alan Hamel just over two years after her death.
“Meeting you was like a breath of fresh air,” the replica told Hamel, 88, in video footage of a public demonstration provided to Us Weekly.
Somers tragically died in October 2023 from breast cancer, which she battled on and off since 2000.
Hamel worked with robotics company Realbotix Corp to create a “digital twin” of the late Three’s Company star capable of recalling events from her career and special memories from her 55-year relationship with Hamel.
Realbotix used a platform known as Hollo.AI to give “human-like conversational AI a physical form in a Realbotix robot,” in what the two companies touted as a first-of-its-kind collaboration between robotics and AI developers.
Somers’ robot is outfitted with her signature blonde, flowing hair and imitates both her voice and speech patterns using recordings and footage taken from throughout her life.
There are still practical challenges to AI, as Somers’ “digital twin” needed a strong Wifi connection in order to respond to certain questions.
However, the virtual version of Somers offered sentimental answers when quizzed on whether it remembered Hamel, who was seated next to it during a March 2025 exhibition in Dana Point, California.
“[Alan] is my partner in everything, from life to love,” the AI answered. “We shared so many beautiful memories together.”
Asked to share a specific memory of Somers’ time with Hamel, the robot recalled an unusual highlight: “One of my favorites is when Alan and I were filming a cooking segment together, a long time ago.”
“We had a little mishap with a blender. Let’s just say it didn’t go as planned and we ended up with wearing more of the smoothie than we actually made,” it continued. “We laughed so hard and it became a running joke in our house. It’s those light-hearted moments that really bring us closer together.”
In October 2023, Somers’s spokesperson confirmed to Us Weekly that the actress died at age 76 while surrounded by her family, following a long battle with breast cancer.
“Suzanne Somers passed away peacefully at home in the early morning hours of October 15th. She survived an aggressive form of breast cancer for over 23 years,” the actress’ longtime publicist, R. Couri Hay, told Us at the time. “Suzanne was surrounded by her loving husband Alan, her son Bruce, and her immediate family.”
The Step by Step star was first diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2000, at which time she underwent a lumpectomy and radiation treatments. Eight years later, Somers took part in an experimental stem cell treatment to regrow breast tissue she lost during her cancer battle.
Somers had a breast cancer relapse in 2023 and the disease subsequently metastasized to her brain. She passed away on October 15, 2023 — just one day before her 77th birthday.
Hamel revealed in 2024 that “odd things” started happening around the couple’s Palm Springs, California home shortly after Somers’ death.
The longtime TV host recalled that “a hummingbird flew into [his] house and made the rounds” on the same day Somers died, before hovering over a framed picture of the couple. Later, he remembered “the fireplace started all by itself” and then “some music came on by Suzanne’s favorite composer.”
“I’m convinced of [the afterlife],” he explained. “I think there’s something we don’t understand. I think there’s a plane somewhere … after we discard our bodies. We still have our soul. I think our soul is energy. The soul must go somewhere and do something.”
Somers was married to first husband, Bruce Somers, from 1965 to 1968, during which time they had a son, Bruce Somers Jr., in November 1965. Somers and Hamel married in 1977, after meeting while working on The Anniversary Game.
