They were madly in love and ready to walk down the aisle, but Drew Carey and Amie Harwick wouldn’t
get to see their happily ever after. And the reason is more complicated than you might think.
"Price is Right" host Drew Carey remained an important person in
Amie Harwick's life until her tragic death. In fact, CNN reported Carey last spoke with
Harwick just two days before her ex-boyfriend, Gareth Pursehouse,
allegedly strangled the famed sex therapist before throwing her off a balcony on February 15, 2020.
On the 2022 CBS special "48 Hours: The Final Hours of Amie Harwick," Carey recalled:
"I got a text from her, 'I would love to get together with you and talk.' And I said,
'Yeah, I would love to do that. I love you.'"
By then, Carey and Harwick had been apart for a little more than a year. The couple announced
their split in November 2018, just 10 months after getting engaged. Despite their breakup,
Carey still had feelings for Harwick. Carey told CBS' Erin Moriarty:
"I feel like a widower, you know, in a lot of ways, because I wanted to marry her, and then
we had this horrible breakup. And then before I could talk to her again, somebody killed her."
Though Carey couldn't meet with Harwick, he's glad the two were able to share their
feelings over text, calling the knowledge that she loved him and, quote, "held [him]
in a dear place in her heart" a "big solace." If Carey and Harwick had feelings for each other,
why did they break up? Pursehouse and the media were partly to blame.
Amie Harwick and Drew Carey got along great, but his fame was a problem for more than one reason.
As a former "Playboy" model who went on to become a therapist specializing in sex-related issues,
Harwick attracted a fair share of detractors who tried to dismiss her and her profession. The
criticism became more acute after she got together with Carey and her name became more widely known.
"I'd like to introduce you to my brand new, lovely fiancee, Amie."
In "The Final Hours of Amie Harwick," Carey admitted that this would sometimes lead
to fights between the two, with Harwick blaming Carey's fame for the harassment.
But her reputation wasn't the only issue. Coverage of Harwick's relationship with
Carey would also intensify the issues she had with
Gareth Pursehouse. Harwick seemed concerned for her safety amid her breakup with Carey.
A month before, Harwick called the cops to Carey's house, where she was staying alone
while he was away, to report trespassing on the property. It wasn't unusual for Carey
to have to go out of town for work, which also got in the way. Additionally, friends
of the then-couple also hinted that they had communication issues, according to Rolling Stone.
Amie Harwick's relationship with Gareth Pursehouse had been a tumultuous one. The
pair had lived together for a short time about a decade prior to Harwick's death,
according to friends who spoke with the Los Angeles Times. Harwick accused Pursehouse of
abusive behavior, for which she was awarded two restraining orders, in 2011 and 2012.
According to the restraining order, when she filed for protective measures, she told authorities:
"He has suffocated me, punched me, slammed my head on the ground, kicked me."
"She had filed a restraining order against this man,
but that restraining order expired just days before her death."
Harwick had no protection against him when she ran into him at an awards ceremony about a month prior
to the attack, when he verbally attacked her. Harwick's friend Jasmin St. Claire told Page Six:
"Amie told me after the incident that she was scared he would show up at her home. She
went to the police, but they did not take it seriously. He was really obsessive over her."
Pursehouse was charged with murder in connection with Harwick's death and is awaiting trial. While
Pursehouse is innocent until proven otherwise, Carey always believed he's guilty, saying:
"When I heard that she got murdered, right away, I thought: 'It's gotta be that guy.'"
But Carey has empathy for Pursehouse, too. In 2020, he said, on "The Talk":
"I forgave the guy who murdered Amie. I did it as soon as I could,
right away because he was mentally ill, the guy was abused when he was a kid."
If you or someone you know is dealing with domestic abuse, you can call the National
Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information,
resources, and support at their website.