Already have an account?
Get back to the

Mary Tyler Moore’s Husband on Her Death: “Oh to See Her Smile Just Once More”

Mary Tyler Moore‘s grieving husband, Dr. S. Robert Levine, is speaking out for the first time after the actress’ tragic death.

“I can’t believe she is gone. Mary was my life, my light, my love. The emptiness I feel without her with me is without bottom,” the 62-year-old cardiologist told People in a candid new interview.

MUST SEE: Dick Van Dyke on Late Co-Star Mary Tyler Moore — “We Had a Crush on Each Other!”

“She was a force of nature who fiercely defended her autonomy even as her health was failing. Mary was fearless, determined, and willful,” Levine continued. “If she felt strongly about something, or that there was truth to be told, she would do it, no matter the consequences.”

mary tyler moore husband getty images

Mary and her husband in March 1986.

Mary sadly passed away at age 80 on Jan. 25 of cardiopulmonary arrest after contracting pneumonia. The Mary Tyler Moore Show star previously met Levine — who is 18 years her junior — in the early 1980s after the doctor treated Mary’s mother in NYC on a weekend house call. The couple later tied the knot in November 1983.

MUST SEE: Betty White is “Too Upset” to Speak Out About Friend Mary Tyler Moore’s Death

“She was kind, genuine, approachable, honest, and humble. And she had that smile. Oh, to see her smile that smile, just once more… My sadness is only tempered by the remarkable outpouring of good wishes, tributes, and personal ‘Mary stories’ told, with heart, by those touched by her grace,” Mary’s third husband continued.

“As long as we all remember her, talk about her, share our stories about her, and what she meant to us, her light will never go out,” Levine added.

mary tyler moore husband getty images

Mary and her husband in September 2005.

Mary was hitched two prior times before marrying Levine. The star first tied the knot with Richard Carleton Meeker when she was just 18-years-old in 1955. They divorced in 1961. She then married Grant Tinker in 1962, but they too split in 1981.

MUST SEE: Mary Tyler Moore Dead at 80 — Listen to The Mary Tyler Moore Show Theme Song to Remember the Late Star

The actress had one child — a son named Richard Carleton Meeker Jr. — with her first husband, Richard, in 1956. Richard Jr. tragically died at age 24 in October 1980 after suffering an accidental gunshot wound to his head while handling a sawed-off shotgun.

Click through the gallery below to see more stars’ emotional tributes to Mary following her passing.