Elmar Wepper’s widow: Who gave her support after his death?

It has been a little over a year since the unexpected death of actor Elmar Wepper (1944-2023). Life has changed a lot since then, especially for his widow Anita (67). In an interview, she spoke about how she processes her grief and who gave her special support during the difficult time.

Above all, it was her dog Emma: “She picked me up after Elmar’s death – through love,” says Anita Wepper to the magazine “Bunte”. The four-legged friend gives structure to her day and feels exactly how she is doing. “Before I go to sleep at night, she comes to bed with me on a blanket for five minutes to make me happy before she goes into her basket.” The dog is very “sensitive”. “Animals sense when they have to be there for you,” adds the 67-year-old.

But she also received human support after her husband’s sudden death; friends and neighbors in particular were there for her. “They left food in front of my door and invited me to wine,” Wepper remembers. “So much affection, warmth and willingness to help still touches me today.” Actress Michaela May (72), with whom she has been friends or even “kindred spirits” for a long time, was also a great source of support: “Michaela is a ray of sunshine. And death is no stranger to us: her three siblings died by suicide, my sister Being able to talk about it with her husband in a car accident 50 years ago is a treasure for the soul.”

When Anita Wepper looks back a little more than a year after her husband’s death, one thought above all comforts her: “That Elmar died without pain.” But the grieving process is “up and down”. “We complemented each other so perfectly, with all the rough edges we had,” said Wepper. “There’s this saying: Time heals all wounds. That’s not true,” admits the 67-year-old. “Time doesn’t heal, but it helps. I’m a person who looks forward.”

Elmar Wepper died of sudden heart failure on October 31, 2023 at the age of 79. A few months later, his older brother and fellow actor Fritz Wepper (1941-2024) died after a long illness. Anita and Elmar Wepper had been married since 2004.