Ryan O'Neal blames himself, family for Farrah Fawcett's cancer

Ryan O'Neal arrives at the 25th Anniversary Genesis Awards on March 19, 2011, in Los Angeles.

/ Getty

(CBS) Ryan O'Neal says he wonders whether actress  Farrah Fawcett might still be alive today if she had never met him.

O'Neal, who has been making the media rounds to promote his new series "Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals," told Piers Morgan that he thinks the problems he and his children had may have contributed to the late actress' cancer.

Pictures: Farrah Fawcett, 1947-2009
Pictures: Farrah Fawcett laid to rest
Pictures: Her iconic red swimsuit

"What bothers me the most is that there was turmoil during my love affair with Farrah, a lot of it caused by my family, by my kids - all of them, but particularly Tatum," he said on "Piers Morgan Tonight" on Monday. "And I just think that if she had never met us, would she still be alive today? Because nobody knows what causes cancer, do they?"

"She didn't smoke, she didn't drink, she exercised every day, and she believed in good health," O'Neal added. "And then we came along, the four of us. And gradually she got - she got weaker. I don't know."

"Do you really believe that?" Morgan asked. 

"Maybe it isn't true. But it's possible," O'Neal responded.

"Ryan and Tatum: The O'Neals" premiered Sunday on OWN.

Watch the interview here.

[mari1963]

Farrah should have stayed with Lee Majors. He was devoted to her and would have taken care of her as a wife and woman should be. Ryan and his clan are chronically dysfunctional people and Farrah deserved better!