Marlo Thomas Shares First Update Over 1 Year After Death of Husband Phil Donahue

Marlo Thomas is opening up about her grief journey following the loss of her late husband Phil Donahue.

In an appearance on the Today show on Tuesday, Nov. 25, Thomas, 88, spoke out on the loss of her husband for the first time since his death on Aug. 18, 2024.

“I’m doing well. I’m like Sheinelle,” she said in reference to Today journalist Sheinelle Jones, whose husband Uche Ojeh, died at 45 from brain cancer in May.

“She’s been my Earth angel,” Jones, 47, chimed in.

“Thank you. I miss him a lot,” Thomas said about Donahue.

Thomas also appeared on the show on Monday, Nov. 24, to kick off Today‘s annual Thanks and Giving series, which highlights the remarkable work at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, the facility her father, Danny Thomas, founded in 1962.

Donahue created and hosted The Phil Donahue Show. Donahue’s family said in a statement that he died in his home surrounded by his family, including his wife of 44 years, as well as “his sister, his children, grandchildren and his beloved golden retriever, Charlie,” Today reported on Aug. 19, 2024.

The statement noted he “passed away peacefully following a long illness.” He was 88.

Upon her husband’s death, the That Girl alum penned a lengthy Instagram tribute.

“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 in part.

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Donahue and Thomas married in 1980, after the two met in 1977 when she was a guest on his talk show. In a throwback post on Facebook, Thomas shared that “it was instant chemistry.” The couple later co-authored the book What Makes a Marriage Last: 40 Celebrated Couples Share with Us the Secrets to a Happy Life in 2020. 

In May 2023, Thomas told PEOPLE that “love, listening and lust” were the keys to her happy marriage to Donahue. 

“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,” she said, before adding, “He’s the best. I’m very lucky.”