Marlo Thomas Remembers Her Husband of 44 Years Phil Donahue After His Death

Marlo Thomas is honoring her late husband Phil Donahue.

In a lengthy Instagram post, the actress thanked her followers for their support after Donahue died at the age of 88. She also announced that she would be taking a hiatus from social media while she grieved her loss.

“Hello, Friends,” she began. “I’m sure by now you’ve heard the very sad news that I lost my sweetheart last night, so I know you understand that I’ll be stepping away from this page for a while to take care of myself and the many people who took care of Phil, and held him close to their hearts.”

“But I didn’t want to disappear without saying thank you for the beautiful messages of love and support that have been coming in all day, and for the wonderful and generous way that you’ve let Phil and me share our life adventure with you over the years,” she continued.

“As a man who spent his career loving his audiences, Phil got such a kick out of our cozy little community here, and I know he would be very touched by the heartwarming thoughts and memories you’ve been sharing,” she added. “Until I return, I wish you good health and happy days in the company of family and friends, and I hope that you will continue to hold close those you cherish most, just as I was blessed to do with my beloved Phillip. Love, Marlo.”

Thomas concluded her post by adding a note about the photo accompanying the post, which showed her hugging the talk show host from behind as they both sat on a motorcycle. “P.S. This is one of my favorite photos of Phil and me, taken on vacation,” she shared.

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Donahue passed away on Sunday, Aug. 18 with Thomas by his side “following a long illness.” The statement, first given to Today on Monday, Aug. 19, added that “his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie” were also with him.

A trailblazer in the daytime talk show industry, Donahue was the first to incorporate a studio audience into his show, The Donahue Show. That was also where he met his wife of 44 years.

“I met Phil on the Donahue Show in 1977 – instant chemistry!” Thomas captioned a video of the episode on her YouTube channel in 2012.

Thomas was there to promote her movie Thieves, and by the end, the two were quite flirtatious.

“You are really fascinating,” Donahue said to Thomas, holding her hand.

“You are wonderful,” she replied. “I said it when we were off the air and I want to say, you are loving and generous and you like women and it’s a pleasure.”

She added, “Whoever is the woman in your life is very lucky.”

The pair got married three years later on May 21, 1980.