Prince Frederic von Anhalt, Zsa Zsa Gabor’s ninth and final husband, was desperate for an heir – so he adopted an adult son and chronicled it on TV.
The widower is one of many subjects featured on A&E’s “Adults Adopting Adults,” which chronicles his quest to find someone in Beverly Hills who could inherit his estate and care for him.
“I tried very hard to find somebody,” the 78-year-old told Fox News Digital. “And then the show came along and said, ‘We could help you do that.’ I felt it was the right thing to do, to get more people involved. Because of the show, it became much easier to find the right person.”
In the series, viewers will watch as von Anhalt goes on social media to find an ideal candidate. A lonely and anxious von Anhalt insisted that his royal lineage, which traces back some 1,000 years, would cease to exist without an heir.
Kevin Feucht, left, and Frederic von Anhalt are chronicling their adoption journey on A&E’s “Adults Adopting Adults.”
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But it turned out that he didn’t have to look far.
“His name is Kevin,” said von Anhalt. “He’s very intelligent and comes from a good family. I asked if he wanted to be part of the show and he agreed. It was also a good way for me to see how he behaved in front of other people.”
Kevin Feucht was born in Germany and educated at UC Santa Barbara. The 27-year-old’s father is a close friend of von Anhalt’s. Feucht also received the stamp of approval from Gabor before her death in 2016 at age 99.
“She loved Kevin,” said von Anhalt. “In the last year that Zsa Zsa was alive, Kevin would come up to the house on the weekends and help us. Zsa Zsa used to call him cutie. She would say, ‘You are a cutie, I want to adopt you.’ She liked him a lot. So when I finally sat down with Kevin, I told him, ‘Do you remember when Zsa Zsa told you, ‘You are a cutie, I want to adopt you?’ He said, ‘Yeah, I remember.’ And then I said, ‘Well, what about if I adopt you now?’ He said, ‘I would love that.’ And that’s how we came together.”
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Zsa Zsa Gabor with her husband Frederic von Anhalt photographed at their Bel Air, California, home, circa 1990.
(Paul Harris/Getty Images)
Von Anhalt said that during the process of adopting Feucht, Gabor was constantly on his mind.
The late actress had been hospitalized repeatedly after she broke her right hip in July 2010. She already had to use a wheelchair after being partly paralyzed in a 2002 car accident and suffering a stroke in 2005. Most of her right leg was amputated in January 2011 because of gangrene. The left leg was also threatened. Von Anhalt duly reported her misfortunes to the media.
Gabor had one child, Francesca Hilton, from her marriage to hotelier Conrad Hilton. In later years, Gabor, von Anhalt and Francesca battled in court over family finances. Francesca died of an apparent stroke in 2015.
Gabor married von Anhalt in 1986 and they remained together until her death.
Zsa Zsa Gabor, the jet-setting Hungarian actress who made a career out of multiple marriages, conspicuous wealth and jaded wisdom about the glamorous life, died in 2016 at age 99.
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“Carrying on the legacy of the Gabors has been very important to me,” von Anhalt explained. “I was the only man in the family. I took care of them. The Gabors used to be the Kardashians of our time. They traveled around the world, headed to Buckingham Palace and the White House. And I went right along with them. I was lucky enough to experience those things. But someone needs to carry on that legacy. That’s what I want Kevin to do.”
Von Anhalt said that there’s not a day that goes by when he doesn’t think of his wife.
“I miss everything about her,” he admitted. “I remember when she first took me to the White House. I had done a horse show and I was so tired. I was sitting on a horse for five hours. I remember I told her, ‘I’ll take a shower and go to bed.’ But she said, ‘No, no, no, you put on your tuxedo.’ We almost fought.”
“But I still put on that tuxedo,” he continued. “And she took me to the White House. I was just in awe… and then I remember hearing the words, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States and first lady, Nancy.’ There they were, Ronald and Nancy Reagan. That was a huge moment for me, to be face to face with the most powerful man in the world. I was just frozen. I didn’t know what to say. But Zsa Zsa put me at ease. She made so many moments extraordinary for me.”
Frederic von Anhalt said one of his proudest moments was meeting President Reagan.
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As for Feucht’s family, von Anhalt insisted they approved the arrangement. And for von Anhalt, adult adoption isn’t a bizarre concept. In 1979, he too was adopted at age 35 by German princess Marie Auguste von Anhalt, Page Six reported. That’s how the son of a policeman from Wallhausen, Germany, earned the princely title.
Von Anhalt previously told the outlet that the German monarchy was abolished in 1918. And while the titles exist, “there is no more power to nobility.”
“Kevin is a grown-up,” said von Anhalt. “He made this decision. But thankfully, his father and I are good friends. We played soccer together. But whether his parents agreed to it or not, I was still going to do my search.”
Frederic von Anhalt said he wants someone to carry on the Gabor legacy.
(Getty Images)
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Should Feucht ever prove he’s not up for the role, it’s back to the drawing board for von Anhalt.
“[This title] is a tool that Kevin can use to make a career in the way I did,” he said. “I’ve had quite a good life. I know he has the skills to carry on the legacy of the Gabors. And that’s the most important thing for me right now.”
“Adults Adopting Adults” airs Monday nights at 10 p.m. on A&E. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
