Astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s Heartbreak: His Wife Anca Faur Dies Peacefully at 66, Leaving Him to Miss “the Love of My Life”
When I read the news that Anca Faur, the wife of Buzz Aldrin, passed away on the night of Tuesday, October 28, 2025, I felt a deep sense of sadness. She was just 66, and the couple had only been married for a little over two years. According to statements shared by both families, Anca died “peacefully … with her husband and her son, Vlad Ghenciu, by her side.”
Their love story was as special as it was quiet. Buzz Aldrin, one of the most iconic figures in space history, announced on his 93rd birthday — January 20, 2023 — that he and Anca had tied the knot in a private, intimate ceremony. They met at a work event in December 2017, began dating in May 2018, and built a friendship based on respect, vision, and shared purpose.
From what I gathered, Anca was not just “the wife of” a legendary astronaut. She held a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. She served as treasurer for the California Hydrogen Business Council and acted as executive vice president of Buzz Aldrin Ventures LLC. She was smart, driven, and deeply supportive of Buzz’s mission — and he often described her with admiration, saying she had “brains, heart, and courage.”
But behind the public moments — the smiles, the photos, the interviews — there was also a private bond, shared simply and deeply. In interviews, Buzz said he had “never been happier” and that marrying Anca felt like the stars aligned. The death of someone who seemed so central to his joy and connection cannot be easy to process. His quote in the announcement echoes that: “I am so fortunate to have found and married the love of my life… She brought joy to everything we did together. I will miss her dearly.”
What strikes me most is how life sometimes reminds us of its fragility — even when it seems calm and wonderful. A private wedding, years of friendship, smiles captured in photos, and then the fact that just two years later, the goodbye came. It’s the kind of reminder that love doesn’t always come with guarantees, and time isn’t promised.
For Buzz, someone who walked on the Moon — who saw Earth from a perspective almost no one else has — to now face this kind of personal loss feels deeply humanizing. We often remember him soaring above the clouds, but in this moment, he is grieving on Earth. And that kind of juxtaposition pulls at the heart.
And for Anca? She’ll be remembered not only as the spouse of one legendary figure but as someone who stood beside him, added her own story of achievement and partnership, and in her own way made that pair even more remarkable. Her passing feels like a quiet shift, one that matters because of the love tied up in it.
As we reflect on their story — the meeting, the marriage, the short but meaningful run of togetherness — it serves as a gentle nudge to cherish what we have today. To recognize that joy and connection can show up late in life, can surprise us, and when they do, it’s worth holding them close.
So here’s to Anca Faur: to her intelligence, her kindness, her choice to love and be loved. And to Buzz Aldrin: to the memories they created, to the love that remains. May the world hold them with compassion in this time of grief.
