Marlo Thomas pays tribute to husband Phil Donahue

By Lisa Respers France, CNN

(CNN) — Following news of Phil Donahue’s death on Sunday, his wife Marlo Thomas is sharing some of her memories of him.

Thomas shared a photo on social media of the two of them sitting on a scooter, writing “This is one of my favorite photos of Phil and me, taken on vacation.”

“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,” Thomas wrote. “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.”

The couple were married for 44 years.

“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,” Thomas continued.

A video of her appearing on his talk show in 1977 circulated on Monday. Thomas was there at the time to promote her film “Thieves” when, at the end, Donahue held her hand and told her “You are really fascinating.”

“You are wonderful,” she responded. “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. “Whoever is the woman in your life is very lucky.”

They married three years later.

Thomas shared the video in 2012 on her YouTube channel, writing “I met Phil on the Donahue Show in 1977 – instant chemistry!”

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