Prior to meeting talk show host Phil Donahue, a divorced father of five children, Marlo Thomas had no intention of getting married. On the other hand, Thomas had to get used to living with five men after being alone her entire life, and Donahue was anxious about his four teenage boys’ lack of harmony with his wife.
Marlo Thomas is a multitalented woman. She is a social activist, writer, singer, and actor. Thomas was a well-known celebrity who was famously single and had no plans to get married.
The actress acknowledged that after seeing her parents’ relationship, marriage began to seem unrealistic. Her father, Danny Thomas, was a well-known television personality who performed all over the nation as a comic before landing his own show, “The Danny Thomas Show.”
Rose Marie, her mother, was a budding singer and radio host who gave up her job to tour the nation with her spouse and raise a family. But Thomas claimed that witnessing her mother’s sacrifices taught her one very important lesson in life: how to love without conditions and live a regret-free existence.
Thomas took part in the feminist movement of the 1970s and is an activist feminist as well. The singer claimed that when she marched, she considered how little her mother had left behind to raise her children now.
Looking at some of Rose’s pictures as a performer brought Thomas sadness because she found it unfair that her mother had sacrificed so much of herself to be a wife and mother. Thomas even said she and her siblings would have been fine with half of her because their mother would have had it all—a career and a loving family life.
Although Thomas did not want a family, she grew up in a close-knit brood. Her parents usually spent time apart because of her father’s busy schedule, but Thomas and her siblings also spent much time out of school to be with their family.
Growing up to become an activist, Thomas vowed to fulfill her mother’s aspirations and live a life solely focused on her own needs and desires in both her personal and professional lives.
However, the older she became, the more people inquired about her thoughts on taking the aisle. Thomas learnt early on to disregard advice from others on how to live since her mother used to remind her that she would die alone.
Nevertheless, Thomas discovered pleasure and love with talk show personality Phil Donahue—an unanticipated partner for someone who had grown up alone and had no children.
Donahue lived full-time with his five children after getting divorced. The moment the two appeared on Donahue’s show, they clicked and became friends. Thomas and Donahue had a lovely recollection of their early dating years. The pair gazed tenderly into each other’s eyes as they strolled through a garden.
By the time Thomas reached her early thirties, the most of her acquaintances were hitched, and she had already served as a bridesmaid on multiple occasions, not to mention the numerous requests for Godmothership.
The majority of her acquaintances would weep about not getting marriage proposals and yearned for marriage. Conversely, Thomas, who openly expressed his desire to remain single, was consistently asked to marry.
Thomas even brought her reality to a sitcom she was starring in and producing, “That Girl,” where she played a single aspiring actress living in New York. She said it was one of the first times on television that a woman openly confessed to not wanting to get married, lived alone, and had no family nearby.
She went so far as to say that people were afraid to see a single woman without a family on television, so the authors wanted to rewrite the plot and have a six-year-old nephew or aunt visit her character. It was never about her flaws that she thought marriage was out of the question.
Thomas expressed confidence in her ability to be devoted and love someone, but she believed that marriage was more of a setting for one and a half people—one who pursues a prosperous profession and the other who supports and subordinates their goals.
Essentially, Thomas understood marriage from the perspective of her parents and society then. She confessed she was scared of marriage and thought it would change who she was. From her perspective, the real-life commitment looked like a jail. However, Donahue came along and changed her mind.
Since the television host had already been married, he did not want to do it again, but one thing that also connected them was their Catholic upbringing. Their differences were significant, too. Thomas had never been married or had kids, but their connection was instant, although the singer described their first date as awkward and their second one, “fine.”
Regarding having children, Thomas believed society and her career ambitions got in the way of motherhood. To have to choose strictly between her career and children was something she could not grapple with because “I want it all,” said Thomas.
Meeting Phil Donahue’s Children
Before meeting Thomas, Donahue had a romantic history with his first wife, Margret Cooney, with whom he shared five children. Donahue was also a devoted Catholic in his teens; he was even a choir boy, but the television host distanced himself from the church after he divorced Cooney.
The dissolution of his first marriage served as the catalyst for his decision to leave the faith. Donahue was not eligible to receive church sacraments as he had not dissolved his marriage to Conney prior to entering into his second marriage.
When the host first met Thomas in 1977, she was invited to dinner. He struck Thomas as a lovely and attractive Irishman. The singer thought their relationship worked well since there was no need to chase time because neither of them wanted to get married.
Thomas raved about how quickly she fell in love with Donahue, even though she acknowledged that their first date was awkward. Kind of like a first love at first sight. or something like. She said, “Something chemical happened.
After the pair finally were married on May 21, 1980, Thomas had to move in with five guys after only two dogs. The shift was startling, she said, “I went from having two dogs to having four boys and a husband.”
Thomas was amazed by Donahue’s ability to raise four boys while his daughter stayed with her mother when they first started dating. Her initial encounter with them went well. The singer considered her stepchildren to be well-mannered and amiable.
Conversely, Donahue had fervently begged for his lads to act appropriately, show kindness, and embrace the woman in his life, and they fulfilled his wishes.
Donahue and Thomas acknowledged that the other had significantly changed their lives. The TV personality claimed that because he knew his wife would always have something to say, he learnt to listen and became knowledgeable about many social topics that he was ignorant of.
Regarding Thomas, she said that when she initially moved in with the Donahue guys, it was a cultural shock. Thomas thought she was stuck somewhere. The living and eating area was open, and the boys had their rooms separated from her and Donahue’s. She would eventually find solace in the dining room and read there.
Thomas said of living with males, “It was just a mess. Everything was disorganized. Everything was damaged. One of the things that annoyed her was the lack of towels to dry after a shower. So she got a lot of towels but made it clear that the white ones were hers only.
The singer was aware that being a stepmother would be difficult, particularly since she had five teenage boys who were in and out of college. She had lived alone for more than forty years, so when the home filled up during the school vacations, it felt crowded to her.
But as time went on, Thomas warmed up to the children and grew to like being around them. One of her favorite holidays had become Christmas with the Donahue brothers.
Thomas disclosed that she and Donahue had split up three months prior to getting married when asked how they knew they were meant to be together. The couple became aware that their relationship was beginning to suffer as a result of juggling work, moving to various places, and integrating their families.
In order to avoid causing each other any more suffering, they made the decision to part ways. Thomas reestablished her friendship with her former boyfriend, and Donahue began dating, but they were miserable together.
One night, Thomas got a call from Donahue, and he said, “I never thought anyone could be irreplaceable.” They were married 12 weeks later. For Valentine’s Day 2022, Thomas shared a special picture from the day of her wedding and gushed over her forever Valentine.
Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue’s Life in Their 80s
Thomas claimed that her marriage, which lasted for more than 40 years, had opened her many avenues. She clarified that she had opened doors for jealousy, trust, teammates, and space.
The singer clarified that her request for trust did not imply any mistrust in her marriage, but rather that she intended to be true to herself and give precedence to the things that were most important to her.
Over the course of their four decades together, the couple, who loved to travel, took several trips. Thomas even tweeted a photo from their tour to the Great Wall of China.
But spending time together was as vital, as the singer demonstrated when she posted a picture of herself and Donahue chowing down on popcorn during a Super Bowl game.
They also spent time with their grandchildren during this valuable time. Together, they enjoyed special meals and excursions. However, Thomas would give her husband a haircut when she wasn’t the year’s most adorable grandmother.
The actress posted a video of herself cutting Donahue’s hair, and although he initially looked scared, he eventually showed confidence in his wife’s ability to do the task well.
Donahue and Thomas remained enamored of each other even in their advanced years. They held hands, made out in public, danced, and strolled around. When asked how the two maintain their romance in an earlier interview, Thomas replied that their primary responsibility was to make time for one another.
Staying in for cozy movie nights or enjoying evenings at comedy clubs and sports games was a regular part of Donahue’s life with his wife. But on August 18, 2024, the light of their love dimmed when Donahue passed away at the age of 88. His death marked a profound loss for the entertainment industry and fans alike.
According to a statement from his family, Donahue died peacefully on Sunday, August 18, after a long illness. He was surrounded by his wife, Thomas, his sister, their children, grandchildren, and his loyal golden retriever, Charlie.
