Seasoned actor Patrick Duffy is perhaps best known for his starring role on Dallas and
his tenure on the sitcom Step by Step.
On Dallas, Duffy played Bobby Ewing, the son of an oil tycoon, who leads a complicated
and tragic life despite his privileged upbringing. Sadly, Duffy's real personal life has also
been touched by tragedy, from the death of his parents, to the loss of his beloved wife.
At the height of his fame in 1974, Duffy married a ballerina named Carlyn Rosser. The two were
seemingly incredibly happy and in love throughout their more than four decades of marriage.
That all came to a tragic and untimely end in January 2017, when Rosser unexpectedly
died of cancer. Speaking to Closer Weekly in 2019, Duffy confided,
“It was a surprise when she passed. There was no indication."
Heartbroken at the loss of his wife of 43 years, Duffy settled into the life of a famous
widower. However, nearly three years after her death, he told Closer Weekly that he still
considered himself a married man.
To help get through tragic events in his life, Duffy has said he's found solace in the Buddhist
faith, which his late wife introduced him to. Speaking to Page Six, he explained that
a fundamental tenet of Buddhist philosophy is the eternity of life.
That belief has helped him deal with the death of his parents, who were slain during an armed
robbery of a tavern that they owned in Boulder, Montana in 1986.
Explaining that he had been practicing Buddhism for about 15 years at the time, Duffy told
People, quote, "As horrific as that was, I didn't feel disconnected from them."
And Buddhism has helped him deal with the loss of his wife as well.
According to People, Duffy has found joy in the years since his wife's passing by spending
time with his two sons and his four grandchildren. And now there's yet another bright spot in
his circle — someone whom sitcom fans might just be familiar with.
According to reports, Duffy seems to have found love again. This time with another throwback
sitcom star, Linda Purl.
It's a classic story of turning lemons into lemonade. Duffy and Purl, who had known each
other for years, reconnected in 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic when they randomly
found themselves in the same group chat. Apparently, Duffy and Purl were so enamored with each
other that they barely noticed when the group chat that started out with lots of old friends
eventually became a conversation between just the two of them.
By then, Duffy was already head over heels for the Happy Days actress. Duffy told People
in November 2020,
"I loaded my car and drove 20 hours from Oregon to Colorado and ended up on her doorstep just
to see if it was real. And it was."
Purl's Instagram feed is covered in pictures of her and Duffy cooking and hiking their
way through quarantine. Duffy feels like the relationship was meant to be, and believes
that his late wife would definitely approve.
"I feel quite honestly, that it is keeping with the desires of my wife, the fact that
we are intended to be happy. So when it's offered, think about it, do whatever you do,
but don't let it pass you up if it's the right thing."
"I had a vision of myself as the happy bachelor widower. Great grandpa, taking care of the
family, taking care of the kids, doing all that stuff. Never thought for a minute that
it would happen again."
Where else have you seen Patrick Duffy's new quarantine-era love, Linda Purl? In Happy
Days, she played Fonzie's girlfriend, Ashley, in Season 10. The actress also starred in
the 1980s mystery series Matlock, as well as multiple other TV classics. Her and Duffy
are a match made in nostalgic TV heaven!
Purl has been married four times, most notably to Desi Arnaz Jr., the son of Lucille Ball
and Desi Arnaz. She's been unmarried since 2011.
Speaking about the relationship in November 2020, Duffy told Page Six,
"We're not covering any ground that has not been trodden in both our lives for years and
years. For me, it's not a do-over, it's a do-again because the first one was perfect
and this one is also perfect. We get a do-again, but we're not teenagers so we kind of enter
it knowing what's expected and what to give and to respect each other's history and individualism.
It's worked out, I can't tell you how happy I am."
In November 2020, the actress took to Instagram with an outdoorsy photo of the pair, summarizing
their love with her caption:
"Grateful for this beautiful soul."
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