Marlo Thomas Recalls Her Favorite Wedding Memory After 44 Years with Phil Donahue (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Phil Donahue (left) and Marlo Thomas photographed at the ‘Hillary’ New York premiere at the Directors Guild of America Theater on March 4, 2020 in New York City.Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/GettyMarlo Thomasis taking a trip down memory lane.Speaking to PEOPLE while celebratingPhil Donahue’s 88th birthday, theThat Girlactress — who wed the talk show giant in 1980 — recalls that their nuptials didn’t start off very smoothly as she dealt with a case of cold feet.“I was so scared and it was in my parents' house and my father came in,” Marlo, now 86, shares. “I was in the guest bedroom with the hairdresser, the makeup and the this and the that and my father came in and he said, ‘Honey, you’re a half hour late.’ ”She says that her father — the legendary actor, comedian and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital founder Danny Thomas — asked her what was wrong, since it would typically only take her a moment to get from her bedroom to the living room, where the ceremony was being held at their home.Phil Donahue (left) and Marlo Thomas photographed during an event.Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty“I said, ‘I’m kind of scared because I didn’t ever want to get married,’ ” Marlo remembers telling her father.. “And he said, ‘Well, then don’t do it, honey.’ ”Marlo notes she eventually gathered the courage to leave her bedroom and exited her room with her father to walk down the aisle.“And as I’m walking down the aisle of my parents’ living room, I see Phil standing there with his hands like this like a little altar boy, and I thought, ‘It’s just Phil. What am I so scared of?’ ” says Thomas. “‘It’s just him.’ And that was it.”Phil Donahue (left) and Marlo Thomas photographed at the Joseph Fioretti exhibition at The National Arts Club on October 5, 2019 in New York City.Sean Zanni/Getty Images for National Arts ClubThe pair have since beenmarried for 44 years. on Thursday Marlo celebrated Donahue’s 88th birthday with a star-studded dinner party in New York City, where she toasted him with acustom cocktail she created in his honor.“I called Jameson on a lark. I said, ‘You’re the greatest Irish whiskey there is. Phil is such a famous Irish guy, there are bars named Donahue. I don’t want to pay you anything, and I don’t want you to pay me anything, but would you just create a drink for me? That’s all I want,’ " she ells PEOPLE. “And they generously agreed to help.“Dubbed “The Donahue,” Thomas served the beverage up to guests Thursday night — inher tortoiseshell double old-fashioned glasses from her William Sonoma collection, naturally — to toast Donahue’s milestone.Marlo Thomas (left), George Stephanopoulos, Al Roker and Ali Wentworth pose as Marlo Thomas toasts husband Phil Donahue with a new Jameson drink “The Donahue” at Pete’s Tavern on Dec. 7, 2023.Bruce Glikas/GettyThe couple first met in the late 1970s when Thomas appeared as a guest on Donahue’s eponymous talk show. The pair then embarked on a long-distance relationship before finally tying the knot a few years later.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.When the couple celebrated 43 years of marriage in 2023, Thomas told PEOPLE about the “Three L’s” they’ve followed throughout their romance that kept their relationship strong: “Love, listening and lust.““Those are the three L’s,” she explained. “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.”

Phil Donahue (left) and Marlo Thomas photographed at the ‘Hillary’ New York premiere at the Directors Guild of America Theater on March 4, 2020 in New York City.Photo:Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

Marlo Thomasis taking a trip down memory lane.Speaking to PEOPLE while celebratingPhil Donahue’s 88th birthday, theThat Girlactress — who wed the talk show giant in 1980 — recalls that their nuptials didn’t start off very smoothly as she dealt with a case of cold feet.“I was so scared and it was in my parents’ house and my father came in,” Marlo, now 86, shares. “I was in the guest bedroom with the hairdresser, the makeup and the this and the that and my father came in and he said, ‘Honey, you’re a half hour late.’ ”She says that her father — the legendary actor, comedian and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital founder Danny Thomas — asked her what was wrong, since it would typically only take her a moment to get from her bedroom to the living room, where the ceremony was being held at their home.Phil Donahue (left) and Marlo Thomas photographed during an event.Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty“I said, ‘I’m kind of scared because I didn’t ever want to get married,’ ” Marlo remembers telling her father.. “And he said, ‘Well, then don’t do it, honey.’ ”Marlo notes she eventually gathered the courage to leave her bedroom and exited her room with her father to walk down the aisle.“And as I’m walking down the aisle of my parents’ living room, I see Phil standing there with his hands like this like a little altar boy, and I thought, ‘It’s just Phil. What am I so scared of?’ ” says Thomas. “‘It’s just him.’ And that was it.”Phil Donahue (left) and Marlo Thomas photographed at the Joseph Fioretti exhibition at The National Arts Club on October 5, 2019 in New York City.Sean Zanni/Getty Images for National Arts ClubThe pair have since beenmarried for 44 years. on Thursday Marlo celebrated Donahue’s 88th birthday with a star-studded dinner party in New York City, where she toasted him with acustom cocktail she created in his honor.“I called Jameson on a lark. I said, ‘You’re the greatest Irish whiskey there is. Phil is such a famous Irish guy, there are bars named Donahue. I don’t want to pay you anything, and I don’t want you to pay me anything, but would you just create a drink for me? That’s all I want,’ " she ells PEOPLE. “And they generously agreed to help.“Dubbed “The Donahue,” Thomas served the beverage up to guests Thursday night — inher tortoiseshell double old-fashioned glasses from her William Sonoma collection, naturally — to toast Donahue’s milestone.Marlo Thomas (left), George Stephanopoulos, Al Roker and Ali Wentworth pose as Marlo Thomas toasts husband Phil Donahue with a new Jameson drink “The Donahue” at Pete’s Tavern on Dec. 7, 2023.Bruce Glikas/GettyThe couple first met in the late 1970s when Thomas appeared as a guest on Donahue’s eponymous talk show. The pair then embarked on a long-distance relationship before finally tying the knot a few years later.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.When the couple celebrated 43 years of marriage in 2023, Thomas told PEOPLE about the “Three L’s” they’ve followed throughout their romance that kept their relationship strong: “Love, listening and lust.““Those are the three L’s,” she explained. “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.”

Marlo Thomasis taking a trip down memory lane.

Speaking to PEOPLE while celebratingPhil Donahue’s 88th birthday, theThat Girlactress — who wed the talk show giant in 1980 — recalls that their nuptials didn’t start off very smoothly as she dealt with a case of cold feet.

“I was so scared and it was in my parents’ house and my father came in,” Marlo, now 86, shares. “I was in the guest bedroom with the hairdresser, the makeup and the this and the that and my father came in and he said, ‘Honey, you’re a half hour late.’ ”

She says that her father — the legendary actor, comedian and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital founder Danny Thomas — asked her what was wrong, since it would typically only take her a moment to get from her bedroom to the living room, where the ceremony was being held at their home.

Phil Donahue (left) and Marlo Thomas photographed during an event.Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty

Chelsea Lauren/Variety/Penske Media via Getty

“I said, ‘I’m kind of scared because I didn’t ever want to get married,’ ” Marlo remembers telling her father.. “And he said, ‘Well, then don’t do it, honey.’ ”

Marlo notes she eventually gathered the courage to leave her bedroom and exited her room with her father to walk down the aisle.

“And as I’m walking down the aisle of my parents’ living room, I see Phil standing there with his hands like this like a little altar boy, and I thought, ‘It’s just Phil. What am I so scared of?’ ” says Thomas. “‘It’s just him.’ And that was it.”

Phil Donahue (left) and Marlo Thomas photographed at the Joseph Fioretti exhibition at The National Arts Club on October 5, 2019 in New York City.Sean Zanni/Getty Images for National Arts Club

Sean Zanni/Getty Images for National Arts Club

The pair have since beenmarried for 44 years. on Thursday Marlo celebrated Donahue’s 88th birthday with a star-studded dinner party in New York City, where she toasted him with acustom cocktail she created in his honor.

“I called Jameson on a lark. I said, ‘You’re the greatest Irish whiskey there is. Phil is such a famous Irish guy, there are bars named Donahue. I don’t want to pay you anything, and I don’t want you to pay me anything, but would you just create a drink for me? That’s all I want,’ " she ells PEOPLE. “And they generously agreed to help.”

Dubbed “The Donahue,” Thomas served the beverage up to guests Thursday night — inher tortoiseshell double old-fashioned glasses from her William Sonoma collection, naturally — to toast Donahue’s milestone.

Marlo Thomas (left), George Stephanopoulos, Al Roker and Ali Wentworth pose as Marlo Thomas toasts husband Phil Donahue with a new Jameson drink “The Donahue” at Pete’s Tavern on Dec. 7, 2023.Bruce Glikas/Getty

Bruce Glikas/Getty

The couple first met in the late 1970s when Thomas appeared as a guest on Donahue’s eponymous talk show. The pair then embarked on a long-distance relationship before finally tying the knot a few years later.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

When the couple celebrated 43 years of marriage in 2023, Thomas told PEOPLE about the “Three L’s” they’ve followed throughout their romance that kept their relationship strong: “Love, listening and lust.”

“Those are the three L’s,” she explained. “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.”

source: people.com