Actress Marlo Thomas took to Instagram Monday to pay tribute to her husband Phil Donahue after his passing from a long illness on Sunday aged 88. “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, 86, began her caption underneath a photo of the couple on vacation in Italy. She thanked her followers for their “beautiful messages of love and support” and adds that Donahue enjoyed the “cozy little community” that is her Instagram presence. She says he would’ve been “touched” by the kind words. She ended her statement by telling her 147,000 followers to “hold close those you cherish most” like she did “Phillip.” Prior to his death, Thomas and Donahue had been married for 44 years. Donahue also had five children from his first marriage, which ended in divorce in 1975. His youngest son died suddenly in 2014, aged 51.