Pierce Brosnan ' s life was turned upside down by a devastating tragedy - and it would take many years and a chance encounter for him to find love again. Shortly after leaving drama school, Piers met Australian actress Cassandra Harris, who he married in 1980 before having son Sean together three years later.
The Mrs Doubtfire actor also adopted his wife's children from a previous relationship, Charlotte and Chris, when their father died in 1986 and they took his surname. But their happy life was destroyed when Cassandra fell seriously ill and was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which she died from in December 1991 at the age of just 43.
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"When your partner gets cancer, then life changes," said Pierce, who understandably struggled after his wife's tragic death.
"Your timetable and reference for your normal routines and the way you view life, all this changes. Because you're dealing with death. You're dealing with the possibility of death and dying.
"And it was that way through the chemotherapy, through the first-look operation, the second look, the third look, the fourth look, the fifth look.
"Cassie was very positive about life. I mean, she had the most amazing energy and outlook on life. It was and is a terrible loss, and I see it reflected, from time to time, in my children."
Three years later, Pierce was at a party in Mexico when he first set eyes on American model-turned-journalist Keely Shaye Smith.
The TV correspondent had actually been there to interview Cheers actor Ted Danson, but when he got called away she began speaking to Pierce.
"He was captivating," Smith told People in 2001. "Tall, dark and handsome – everything that everybody would immediately be attracted to. He had this mischievous sparkle in his eyes. I thought, 'Wow! Wow!'"
A few days later, the couple had their first date and ended up speaking with each other until three in the morning.
"We sat down under the stars and [Brosnan] held my hand. There were fireworks going off over our heads, and Kenny Loggins was singing," Smith recalled in the interview.
"I understand why women find him sexy, because he is an appealing man. He really likes and appreciates women."
Pierce has previously admitted that meeting Kelly "saved" him at a time when depression was taking hold - and he would do anything to see her even when his career was really taking off.
"Wherever I went in the world I missed her, and I'd send her tickets to come so we could be together. We just seemed to fit," he said.
"I found a great woman in Keely Shaye," he said. "Not if I searched a million times over would I find one as good."
A year after he first met Keely, Pierce was cast as the next James Bond, which had been his dream since he was 10-years-old and also the desire of his late wife.
Cassandra had appeared in 1981 Bond movie For Your Eyes Only with Roger Moore as Countess Lisl von Schlaf and was a bigger name than her husband at the time.
She had always hoped that Pierce would become Bond - and that wish came true when he starred in GoldenEye in 1995.
Pierce and Keely had son Dylan in 1997 and then Paris in 2001, which was the same year they got married at Ballintubber Abbey in Ireland.
Pierce's adopted daughter Charlotte, who sadly died of ovarian cancer like her mum did in 2013, was a bridesmaid at the wedding and was thrilled to see her dad remarry.
"Just seeing the ultimate love that these two people have for each other was unbelievable," Charlotte said at the time "My dad found it again, and that makes me happy."
The couple mainly reside in Malibu, California, but also have a Hawaii home and Irish residences in Dublin and County Meath.
Pierce is constantly gushing over his 'beautiful' wife and constantly uploading adorable snaps of them together.
"I love her vitality, her passion," he told The Independent in 2014. "She has this strength that I wouldn't be able to live without. When Keely looks at me, I go weak."
Most recently, Piers delivered an incredible response to cruel trolls who made nasty comments about Keely's figure.
A Facebook post went viral last year when a nasty person made vile comments about how Keely looks now compared to when she first married the veteran actor.
After the post went viral, with endless fat-shaming comments, Pierce allegedly hit back at the cruel trolls and revealed a friend had offered to help out with weight loss surgery.
After the post reportedly came to Pierce's attention, he quickly hit back by saying he sees her as the most beautiful woman in the world.
The much-loved Irish actor reportedly hit back: "Friends offered her surgery to reduce her weight. But I strongly love every curve of her body.
"She is the most beautiful woman in my eyes. And also because she had our five children.
"In the past, I truly loved her for her person, not only for her beauty, and now I'm loving her even more that she is my children's mother.
"And I am very proud of her, and I always seek to be worthy of her love."
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