“Just because you lose a loved one doesn't mean you stop loving”: Lisa Niemi opens up on fan backlash post Patrick Swayze's death 

American writer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and director Lisa Niemi appeared on the April 8 episode of the Amy and T.J. podcast, where she opened up about finding love again following the death of her first husband, actor-dancer Patrick Swayze, in 2009.

Lisa Niemi shared how she earned backlash from the Dirty Dancing star’s fans after she remarried her current husband and jeweler, Albert DePrisco, in 2014.

“Just because you lose a loved one doesn't mean you stop loving, and you don't have that love to give. And I think Albert and I were fortunate to find someone to give that love to,” she explained.

Lisa Niemi was married to Patrick Swayze from 1975 until his demise.

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Lisa Niemi believes that Patrick Swayze is “still with me”

During the latest Amy and T.J. podcast episode, titled Forever Dirty Dancing with Lisa Swayze, Lisa Niemi shared how she never really moved on from Patrick Swayze, but gave herself another opportunity at love and marriage.

She recalled how she met Albert DePrisco “about three years” after Swayze’s passing, adding that her current husband had himself gone through a divorce back then:

"If we had met before then, it wouldn't have happened, but after three years we were about ready. We were introduced by longtime friends that we had both known for 30 years who vouched for the other person," Lisa stated.

Niemi also added:

"Patrick is still with me. I still have a relationship with him; he's physically not here, [but] every day he's with me and I feel him there. What was really unusual was ... I really fell in love with Albert, and it didn't affect — it was interesting to see how it didn't affect my love for Patrick one bit," she explained.

The 67-year-old further recalled how, when she remarried, she received “a lot of flak” from fans of her former late husband:

"There are some pretty rabid Patrick fans out there who think I'm evil, just don't like me because I was married to him. So, there was a lot of flak that came on that, a lot of criticism, and you just learn to deal with it and move on," she stated.

The Slam Dance actress further stated she was often "tempted" to call out people, saying, "Hey girlfriend, stand in my shoes, tell me about it. Go ahead - tell me just because I lost my husband that I don't love him anymore."

Elsewhere in the podcast, Lisa Niemi also talked about the initial reaction of Patrick Swayze after hearing his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in January 2008. She reminisced how Patrick instantly knew he was a “dead man” and that “he’s out of there” as soon as he received the news.

The former ballet dancer also mentioned how they had a tough time remaining positive throughout his cancer journey.

"We always called ourselves optimistic realists, because we knew in all likelihood how this was gonna turn out, but we held out that he would be the one to make it through it, because miracles do happen. We kept so positive about everything, but I tell you what, it was like living in a complete nightmare 24/7," she added.

Lisa Niemi and Patrick Swayze reportedly met as teenagers in Houston, Texas, at the latter’s mother’s dance studio and later shifted to New York City together following their respective high school graduations.

They even co-wrote a play, titled Without a Word, which they adapted into a movie in 2003, titled One Last Dance. Both of them starred in the film.

The couple was married for 34 years, until the Point Break actor passed away in September 2009 from pancreatic cancer at the age of 57, nearly a year and a half after his diagnosis. They had no children.