Betty White Lived Alone for Decades in House She Built with Late Husband — She Raised 3 Stepkids & Adored Animals

Betty White lived until she was 99 years old. She lost her husband, Allen Ludden, to cancer and was forced to live in their new home alone. White willingly spent 43 years alone because she knew she would never find the same love she shared with Ludden.

Betty White was a renowned actress known for her comedic work on T.V. shows like "The Golden Girls" and The Mary Taylor Moore Show."

She was born in 1922 in Brentwood, California, and is by far one of the actresses with the longest-standing career spanning over seven decades.

Betty White's Early Life

The California-bred star started her acting career on radio. She acted on various radio shows and eventually ventured into television, where she was known as "Girl Friday" on "Hollywood on Television."

The actress went on to host several shows. She took on a role of a producer and actor on the show "Life with Elizabeth," which earned her an Emmy for Most Outstanding Television Personality.

The early stages of her love life were rocky. In 1945, White married her first husband, Dick Barker, an Army Air Forces pilot, but they divorced that same year.

White was not fond of living on Barker's chicken farm and realized she wanted to be closer to home and focus on her career. So, after four months, the couple went their separate ways.

In 1947, White married Lane Allen, who started his career as an actor but eventually became a talent manager. Their union was also short-lived, lasting two years. White reasoned that Allen wanted her to stop working, and that was something she was not willing to sacrifice.

Before meeting the love of her life, White was reportedly dating, but she enjoyed a life that did not legally bind her with someone.

Finding the Love of Her Life

After two short-lived marriages, the third time was a charm for White. She and game show host Allen Ludden met on his show "Password" just three weeks after it aired.

The actress said the connection was so immediate that it felt like they had known each other for years. "He was the most genuine man I'd ever known," she gushed.

White said Ludden's enthusiasm and interest in various things made her fall in love with him. Ludden was also head over heels in love with White, so much so that he proposed to her within two weeks of dating. However, White clarified that it was just a joke since she had no interest in walking down the aisle anytime soon.

The actress knew she had hurt Ludden when he proposed again with a diamond ring and she rejected him. But Ludden never backed down; instead, he got a chain and wore the ring on his neck until White agreed to marry him in 1963.

Their love grew to be stronger. Friends of the couple admired their connection and revealed they always looked like newlyweds who could not get enough of each other.

Ludden and White were together as much as possible. "When they can't be together at work, they call each other from their dressing rooms," said producer Lin Bolen.

One of White's friends, Johnny Carson, was inspired by the love the actress shared with Ludden. White even shared that the best thing to have happened to her was when Carson came to her and said, "I know what you had [with Allen]. I finally found it—I'm happier than I've ever been in my life." She described it as "a lovely moment."

White also believed that the love her character, Rose, and on-screen husband, Charlie, shared on "Golden Girls" was a replica of what she and Ludden had. The actress even confessed that she couldn't talk about Charlie without thinking of her husband.

Building a Life Together

Ludden studied English at the University of Taxes. His signature look was a thick-rimmed pair of glasses which made him look nerdish that he would not have been mistaken for a television host.

However, he turned out to have an infectious energy that made him one of the best TV hosts. Ludden graced screens from the 1950s to the '70s and won his first Emmy in 1976.

Bolen praised Ludden for being a perfect host with perfect lines at the tip of his tongue. The producer said his spontaneity on stage was better than some pre-written shows.

However, Ludden was burdened with a horrific diagnosis of terminal stomach cancer in the 1970s. The disease was gradual, which allowed the host to still build his dream home with White in Carmel, California.

Unfortunately, Ludden died the same year the house was ready for moving in. White took him to the new home in his final days but could only spend two nights before he died in 1981 at 63.

This was a difficult time for White. She remembered being alone in the house and going upstairs to find their dog lying on his robe. "I just fell apart, and we sat together on the floor," she recalled.

White gained the strength to get back on her feet after her husband died. She immersed herself in her work but never felt the need to remarry. In fact, she spent 43 years alone after her husband died.

In 2011, the actress was interviewed by Anderson Cooper and was asked why she never remarried. White responded, "I had a love of my life. If you have had the best, who needs the rest?"

One of White's friends, Carol Burnett, who witnessed the actress deal with her husband's diagnosis, also got to see the beauty of their love.

Burnett said White would go to her house and rehearse for her show, then drive straight to the hospital to be with Ludden. Burnett was in awe of the strength White had during this difficult time.

Ludden and White nurtured their love till the end. The actress recalled how often and spontaneous their dates would be. She said Ludden would call and ask if she wanted a date, which meant on the way home, one of them would pick up a chicken and throw it on the grill while they enjoyed music together.

White had always wanted to plant her roots in California. While she lived in New York with Ludden, she knew her home was in Los Angeles. The Carmel home was a three-story house with beautiful ocean views, luxurious landscaping, and easy access to the beach. One of the rooms was reportedly filled with stuffed animals as a nod to White's love for animals.

The actress gave a tour of the house and showed her aquarium with her collection of tropical fish, which she displayed in a frame that made it look like a piece of art.

White also owned a house in Brentwood, California. It was a five-bedroom home built in 1952 and 3,000 square feet big. The house had a pool, a three-car garage, and a guesthouse where White reportedly played board games with her friends.

Another part of the Brentwood home that White loved was the sunroom, where she enjoyed gazing at the garden filled with various flowers and trees. She also reportedly bought it for its privacy and proximity to Hollywood studios.

White lived a long life and died at 99 on New Year's Eve of 2021. Four months after her passing, her two California homes were sold.

Her Carmel home was listed for $7.95 million but sold for a whopping $10.775 million; her other long-time residence was listed for $10.575 million.

Betty White's Life Alone

Although White had experienced true love, she was not willing to have that with anyone else. In fact, when she realized she had to live without Ludden, she was thankful they got married and lived 18 years of pure bliss.

White chose to live without children to focus her time and energy on her career. She described herself as compulsive; therefore, she knew having children would have triggered her obsessiveness and affected her career.

However, the actress got to experience motherhood by being the stepmother of Ludden's children, who were teenagers when they got married. White found being a stepmother to be fulfilling. Ludden's children were perfect, got along with her, and lovingly referred to her as a dragon lady.

Despite the unconventional way it happened, White felt blessed to have had the chance to become a parent and appreciated that she still got to have a successful career.

In all the 99 years White lived, she said she never regretted not having biological children because she loved being a stepmother.

January 17, 2022, would have been White's 100th birthday; therefore, "The Betty White challenge" emerged on social media where people donated or volunteered at their nearest animal shelter to honor her life and contribution to animal life.

White was loud about her love for animals. She was a board member of L. A Zoo and is a recipient of American Humane's highest honor, the National Humanitarian Medal, and the Legacy Award.

Her contribution will forever be remembered, and Instagram users have also shared adorable pictures of their newly adopted pet, which they named Betty White.

When asked where her love for animals came from, White said, "I just like animals better than people. It's that simple." White-owned a pet golden retriever which died in 2017. She decided not to get another one because she did not want to leave it behind.

However, she showed her love for other zoo animals. There was an elderly elephant named Grita that White loved to walk alongside. The actress constantly advocated for better and bigger habitats to be built for elephants and gorillas.

Just like his wife, Ludden also used his platform and educational background to change the trajectory of talk shows. Ludden wanted to create educational programs for students, so he stumbled upon the game show "G.E. College Bowl." That was followed by "Password," which introduced celebrities teaming up to answer various questions and brought him the love of his life.

During the uprise of his career, Ludden was married to Martha McGloin. However, his wife died of cancer, leaving him with their three children, David, Martha, and Sarah. Ludden was lucky to find White, who was there to help raise his children and give him a life full of love.

White spent her final days in her Brentwood home, but that was not what the actress wanted. She would have preferred to have taken her last breath at the Carmel house she built with her husband.

But she was forced to live in her other home because she needed in-home care. If White had it her way, she would spend her last days in the house she and her husband built. It was her sanctuary and where she felt most comfortable. Nonetheless, White died peacefully on the morning of December 31, 2021.