Patrick Duffy, 73, Shares How He Fell in Love over Zoom after His Wife of 43 Years Died

• Patrick Duffy shares how he fell in love again in his 70s despite not believing it would be possible.

• Patrick was happily married to a 10-year-older ballerina for 43 years before she unexpectedly died.

By November 2022, Linda Purl, then 67, and Patrick Duffy, then 73, had already dated for two years and were going strong. During an interview that month, the couple revealed how they fell in love.

The duo’s relationship began when they started talking via a group text message. Purl and Duffy then moved their conversation to Zoom, a video software none had heard of or even used!

Patrick Duffy and Linda Purl on an episode of “The Bold and The Beautiful” on October 24, 2022 | Source: Getty Images

However, because it was during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pair gave the software a chance, and it worked like a charm! The “Happy Days” actress and Duffy spoke for hours on Zoom.

When things started to settle back to normalcy after the pandemic, the two had a chance to star in a play overseas and jumped at the opportunity! For seven months, they were on tour, and it also served as a time for them to decide which direction their relationship take.

Duffy revealed how they lived together while in Europe. The couple also went to the theater together and returned as a unit, and didn’t see anything peculiar about what they were doing, with the actor noting:

“And people say, ‘Oh my god, that must’ve been so dangerous!’ We thought it was great.”

Purl shared how “great” it was that they had a movie to do together. She noted how they had two weeks of isolation in Canada because it was during the quarantine time, and they’d thought it could be bad, but it wasn’t!

Instead, the pair laughed their way through it! Since then, the relationship that started in the summer of 2020 got better and better, with Duffy revealing how they were never apart again, proving that age was just a number!

Falling in love once again was something Duffy never anticipated after losing his wife suddenly. The couple had been married for decades and thought they would be together forever until tragedy struck.

How Patrick’s “Heart Stopped” When His Wife of 43 Years Unexpectedly Died?

On June 23, 2017, Duffy took to his Twitter account to mourn the death of his late wife, Carlyn Rosser. The star revealed that six months before the post went up, he experienced something painful, writing:

“My heart stopped, yet I live on as she wishes.”

Patrick Duffy and his wife Carlyn Rosser at Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer Host a Party to Reveal “The Love Boat” 1,000th Guest Star on March 31, 1985, in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images

The star sadly noted how he and Rosser would be “together eternally” and thanked his fans and followers for their concern and love. In November 2019, the widower confessed that his life crashed when he lost his wife of 43 years.

Rosser, a ballet dancer ten years older than Duffy, was 77 when she died in 2017, leaving him and their children, Padriac and Conor, behind. The “Dallas” star admitted to seeing and hearing her despite her death.

Patrick Duffy and his wife Carlyn Rosser at the ABC Summer TCA Press Tour on July 21, 1991, in Universal City, California | Source: Getty Images

Duffy said he knew what his late wife would’ve expected from him, and he would try living up to it. Despite being two years since her death, the actor still hadn’t gotten over her death and didn’t think he’d ever be able to move on.

The actor [Patrick Duffy] was surprised when she [Carlyn Rosser] suddenly passed as there’d been no indication.

He explained how he always felt close to her but missed her touch the most. The star even confessed to still considering himself a married man after adoring his wife until her last breath.

Carlyn Rosser and Patrick Duffy at the Grimaldi Forum in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, for the Monte Carlo Television Festival on July 3, 2002 | Source: Getty Images

Duffy was an immature college graduate who was touring as a narrator with a dance production when he met and fell in love with Rosser. She was a ballerina older than him when they first met on a tour bus.

The former couple had a tight bond and couldn’t comprehend dating other people. They were more than enough with each other, so when Rosser died, Duffy didn’t know how to pick up the pieces.

Carlyn Rosser and Patrick Duffy at the closing ceremony of the 55th Monte-Carlo Television Festival on June 18, 2015, in Monaco | Source: Getty Images

The actor was surprised when she suddenly passed as there’d been no indication. He had to adjust to the significant change while his sons became his most prominent supporters until the star realized he was more adapted to such circumstances than they were, explaining:

“You reach a certain age, and you realize the road ahead is much shorter than the road behind.”

Patrick Duffy and Carlyn Rosser at the Celebrity Wheelchair Basketball Game for the Benefit Fund for the Physically Handicapped on May 22, 1977, in Northridge, California | Source: Getty Images

Despite his initial struggles, Duffy moved forward as the days passed and revealed he had no regrets. The star shared how there were no mistakes in life and could mend any broken fence and create value if given the time.

He said he was doing okay and working hard to make the best of his life. Although he’d gone through one of the darkest times in his life, the actor proved that happiness and love could find you again.

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