Jimmy Buffett’s wife opens up about his ‘unimaginably challenging’ final years

Jimmy Buffett's widow has given insight into the "unimaginably challenging" last few years before the death of the legendary "Margaritaville" singer.

Buffett, the iconic musician and businessman known for his laid-back demeanor, died at 76 on Sept. 1 after four years of being treated for a rare skin cancer.

Buffett's widow, Jane Slagsvol, shared a message on Buffett's website on Sept. 9 thanking his doctors, friends and fans. She also reflected on their time together.

"As Jimmy said a few months ago, 'growing old is not for sissies,'" she wrote. "These last few years have been unimaginably challenging for Jimmy and me, and we’re definitely not sissies. One thing we both knew and experienced, through every difficult moment, was the feeling of being buoyed up by all the people in our lives."

Buffett was the affable, positive vibes person who was beloved by legions of fans right up until the end, according to his wife.

"Jimmy was love," she wrote. "Every cell in his body was filled with joy. He smiled all the time, even when he was deeply ill. And his sense of humor never wavered. Jimmy was always the optimist, always twinkling, always making us laugh."

Slagsvol also expressed her gratitude to Buffett's fans, whom she called a "big, boisterous family," and the couple's friends during a difficult time.

"Jimmy and I felt your breathtaking love and compassion throughout our lives and, especially, over these past few years," she wrote. "Jimmy brightened telling you stories over long dinners as the cicadas sang. He loved occupying his place at the head of the table, looking at the people he cherished. You created a microclimate of affection that surrounded us like the sun. It gave us hope; it felt like a celebration even when things were grim. It’s a balm to me now."

In a statement posted to his official website and social media, the singer was said to have “passed away peacefully on the night of September 1st surrounded by his family, friends, music and dogs.”

“He lived his life like a song till the very last breath and will be missed beyond measure by so many.”

Before marrying Slagsvol in 1977, Buffett had a brief marriage to Margie Washichek from 1969 to 1972, when the couple divorced.

Read on to learn more about Jimmy Buffett's second wife and mother of his three kids, Jane Slagsvol.

Jimmy Buffett was really impressed by Jane Slagsvol the first moment they met

In a 1998 interview with TIME magazine, Buffett recalled the first moment he met Slagsvol and said it happened in 1971 when they were both in Key West.

Slagsvol, who was a student at the University of South Carolina at the time, was visiting the town for her spring break vacation.

Buffett said he first noticed her when he was drinking at a bar and again the next night when she wore a "long pink dress that made a lasting impression on me.”

Shortly after, Slagsvol decided to ditch school and move in with Buffett. The couple were later married in 1977, the same year that Slagsvol released his hit single "Margaritaville.”

Jimmy Buffett and Jane Slagsvol once separated during their marriage

After five years of marriage, Slagsvol said that she grew weary of their lifestyle and needed a change.

“I’d been with Jimmy since I was child, through the craziest times, and I didn’t have a clue who I was. So I left. I got sober," she told TIME magazine.

Buffett noted that partying had also taken its toll on him.

“The hangovers started to feel like surgical recoveries," he said. So after Slagsvol left, he wrote some new songs and kept touring.

The couple later reunited in 1991.

Jane Slagsvol supported Jimmy Buffett's music career

In 1978, Slagsvol appeared in her hubby's music video "Come Monday."

In the song, Buffett sings about missing his lover while he heads to San Francisco for a Memorial Day show.

"I guess I never was meant for glitter rock ‘n’ roll / And honey, I didn’t know that I’d be missin’ you so / Come Monday, it’ll be alright / Come Monday, I’ll be holdin’ you tight," he sings.

In the music video, you can see Buffett and Slagsvol spending quality time together as they laugh and take a romantic boat ride on the water.

Jane Slagsvol shares three kids with Jimmy Buffett

Buffett and Slagsvol are the proud parents of three kids: Savannah, Sarah, and Cameron.

On her website, Savannah recalled her early days of living at home and said she "had a passport before she could walk."

Savannah noted that she quickly got used to the "get-up-and-go lifestyle" and would spend her childhood living in different places like New York, Nashville, Malibu, Aspen, St. Barths and "many tour buses."

For her parents, 39-year wedding anniversary, Savannah commemorated the occasion by sharing a cute throwback photo of them together.

"39 years ago today these two said I do and the world was never the same!!!" she wrote on Instagram. "If I had a time machine my parents wedding would defiantly be in my top 5 destinations...wishing many more years and a very happy anniversary to Jimmy and Jane aka mom and dad!!!"

This article was originally published on TODAY.com