Marlo Thomas says she might be stepping away from social media to grieve the dying of her late husband, Phil Donahue.
On Aug. 19, Thomas penned a wholehearted Instagram tribute to the talk show host and writer, to whom she was married for 44 years. Donahue died Sunday night surrounded by Thomas, his youngsters, his grandchildren and his canine, the household stated in a press release to TODAY.com.
In her submit, Thomas mirrored on the shifting messages despatched her method within the wake of his dying.
“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.”
She expressed deep gratitude for the love and help she has obtained and thanked her followers for permitting her and her husband to share their life adventures.
“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 continued.
“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,” she wrote.
Before he wed Thomas in 1980, the TV trailblazer was beforehand married to his faculty sweetheart, Margaret Cooney. They welcomed 5 youngsters earlier than parting methods in 1975.
Read on to be taught extra about Phil Donahue’s wives and what he has stated about their relationships.
Margaret Cooney
Donahue married his faculty sweetheart, Margaret Cooney, in 1958, shortly after graduating from the University of Notre Dame.
They welcomed 4 sons, Michael, Kevin, Daniel and James, and one daughter, Mary Rose.
The couple parted methods in 1975 and as a part of their divorce settlement, Phil Donahue gained custody of their 4 boys whereas Margaret Cooney gained custody of their daughter, The Washington Post reported in a 1980 profile of Donahue.
Following their divorce, Margaret Cooney “returned to her native New Mexico, remarried and disappeared from public view,” in line with the Washington Post.
The couple’s youngest son, James Donahue, died of an aortic aneurysm at age 51 in 2014, in line with an obituary within the Dayton Daily News.
Donahue opened up about his first marriage in a 2002 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
“In your first marriage, were you the traditional workaholic guy who had traditional expectations of your wife?” Winfrey requested the discuss present host.
“Sure. And I was very ambitious,” he answered. “In the early days of the show, I knew we couldn’t be ponderous — we had to enter screaming.”
Marlo Thomas
Thomas, an actor and activist identified for her roles within the sitcom “That Girl” and the kids’s particular “Free to Be…You and Me,” met Donahue when she appeared on his talk show to promote her 1977 comedy, “Thieves.”
Thomas, 86, shared a clip of the episode after they met, and stated in her caption of the YouTube video that that they had “instant chemistry.”
“You are really fascinating,” Donahue tells Thomas in the episode, as he takes her hand.
“You are wonderful! I said it when we were off the air, but I want to say you are loving and generous, and you like women, and it’s a pleasure,” she replies. “Whoever is the woman in your life is very lucky.”
They tied the knot in 1980 and were married until Donahue’s death.
Donahue has opened up about his admiration for his trailblazing wife. Her ABC show, “That Girl”, which ran from 1966 to 1971, was one of the first sitcoms to focus on a single woman pursuing her dreams outside the family home.
In a May interview with People, Donahue stated that as he hosted his discuss present, he “was studying about trendy feminism proper alongside the remainder of America.”
“I just happened to have a closer seat,” he stated, “talking personally to some of the greatest feminists of our time: Gloria Steinem, Betty Friedan, Bella Abzug, Jane Fonda, Shirley Chisholm, Geraldine Ferraro — and the gorgeous feminist I ended up marrying.”
In 2020, Thomas and Donahue teamed on a ebook, “What Makes a Marriage Last,” a set of conversations with well-known married {couples} about their secrets and techniques to like and happiness.
As for the key to her and Donahue’s longterm love, Thomas cited the “three Ls.”
“Love, listening, and lust,” she advised People in 2023. “Those are the three Ls. You have to listen and then you’ll know what the other person is really thinking and going through. You have to love each other. And without lust, you don’t have anything.”
In latest years, Thomas usually shared candy messages about their relationship on Instagram.
“I love this shot! Phil and I had only met a few months before on his show in Chicago,” she wrote in July, sharing a throwback photo of her and Donahue embracing. “Then he came to visit me at my house in Beverly Hills. Here we are in my backyard. Sparks continued to fly! They still do! How lucky are we?!”
She additionally shared a heartfelt Instagram submit for his or her forty fourth wedding ceremony anniversary this May.
“I can’t believe it. It seems more like 20 years,” she captioned a photo of them from their wedding ceremony day. “It was a happy day in May and it’s happy still! We are blessed and so grateful we found each other. Here we are May 21, 1980. Happy anniversary my darling.”
Thomas has additionally opened up about embracing her function as a stepmom to Donahue’s youngsters from his earlier marriage.
“From the very first day, I decided that I was not going to try to be a ‘mother’ to Phil’s children in the traditional sense — they already had a mom — but, instead, to be their friend,” she told AARP.org in 2011. “I’m proud to say that the friendships I established with them are as strong today as they were 30 years ago — even stronger.”
