Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue shared 44 years of devoted marriage before his death on August 18 at the age of 88. Weeks before his passing, Thomas had shared a tender throwback photo of herself and Donahue along with a bittersweet memory that has all the trappings of a love that would endure to the end.
Upon crossing paths in earnest in 1977, when Thomas was a guest on his program, The Phil Donahue Show, the two television powerhouses enjoyed instant chemistry. One of Donahue’s biggest strengths, which has earned extensive praise from Thomas, was his readiness to support her career, a support she reciprocated in kind. But the two learned to bask in quieter moments over the years—especially when forced to from the pandemic—and this throwback photo from Marlo shows one of those rare, treasured, peaceful evenings.
Marlo Thomas shared a tender, meaningful throwback photo and memory weeks before Phil Donahue died
On July 25, Thomas took to social media, where she has a strong presence sharing memories with Donahue as well as his children from a previous marriage, to share a photo of herself and Donahue. They are seen standing arm-in-arm beaming at the camera. The scene is made all the more grand by the golden orange ocean sunset behind them as the two stand on board a boat.
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“Here’s a sweet #throwback!” she captioned the post. “Phil and me aboard the Mugsy, summer of 2009! It’s hard to believe this was 15 years ago, it feels like yesterday. We still love to watch the sunset whether on land or water! #TBT.”
Yesterday and the last day
Observing her social media feed, this would be the last photo Thomas would share before Phil died. After his passing, she shared a thankful tribute post, expressing gratitude towards their fans that became a “cozy little community” that Donahue had become so fond of.
Ultimately, Thomas asked for privacy through the grieving process. But, she noted, she “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 noted that Phil spent his career committed to promoting audience participation and engaging his viewers, and so he got “such a kick out of” continuing that as long as he got to thanks to those supportive social media followers.
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