More than a year after the death of legendary talk show host Phil Donahue, Marlo Thomas shared an update on TODAY on how she has been doing since the loss of her husband of 44 years.
Thomas, 88, who is the national outreach director at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, did not make her usual appearance on TODAY around the holidays in 2024 as she mourned the loss of Donahue, who died at 88 in August 2024.
She returned to TODAY this week for her first television appearances since Donohue’s death and gave a quick update on Nov. 25 about life after her loss.
“I’m doing well. I’m like Sheinelle,” she said in reference to TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones, who lost her husband, Uche Ojeh, to brain cancer at age 45 in May.
Sheinelle said on TODAY that Thomas has helped her through her own grief.
“She’s been my Earth angel,” Sheinelle said.
“Thank you. I miss him a lot,” Thomas said in reference to Donahue.
Donahue died with Thomas, his children, his grandchildren, his sister and his dog by his side, the family said in a statement to TODAY.com in August 2024.
In the wake of his death, Thomas wrote a tribute to her late husband and a message of gratitude on Instagram while noting that she would be taking a break from social media to mourn his loss.
“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.
Thomas, who also is an actor, first met Donahue in 1972 as a guest on his talk show, then again when she returned in 1977 to promote her comedy “Thieves.”
“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 told him on the show. “Whoever is the woman in your life is very lucky.”
The couple, who got married in 1980, wrote a book together in 2020 titled “What Makes a Marriage Last.” It features a collection of conversations with famous married couples about their secrets to longevity.
Thomas shared the three L’s that she lived by when keeping her relationship with Donahue fresh over the years.
“Love, listening, and lust,” she told 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.”
