Mary Tyler Moore was the iconic actress who changed the way people looked at a single working woman back in the 1970s. She has played many roles, but most people remember her as charming and funny Mary Richards from The Mary Tyler Moore Show. But in contrast to her famous character, Mary Tyler Moore was not against marriage and had a fascinating love story of her own.
Married three times, the legendary actress spent the last 33 years of her life with a NYC doctor Robert Levine. And their touching and inspiring story is definitely worth telling.
The life brought them together in 1982 when Mary’s mother fell ill. Robert was the doctor who came to examine the woman instead of her regular therapist. At the moment, Moore was married and divorced twice. Moreover, he went through one of the worst nightmares of her life – the death of her only son Ritchie.
However, neither the long history of personal tragedies nor the fact that Robert was 15 years younger than she did not stop the legendary actress from falling in love for the third time. Shortly after their first encounter, Mary and Robert were spending every weekend together.
The couple got married a year later, on Thanksgiving Eve. At the time, the actress was 45 and her husband was only 30. But it was obvious that the two of them were in love and cared deeply of each other.
Close family friends noted that Robert made her “feel cherished,” reports People.
Levine traveled a lot with his wife to support her and take care of her health: the woman was suffering from type I diabetes. Later, they would dedicate lots of their time, effort, and resources to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.
The couple never had kids of their own, but the spouses always took care of each other. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Moore told that she is “basically a very happy person” because Robert could lift her spirits in any situation.
They spent together more than 33 years. In January 2017, the legendary actress passed away at the age of 80. Speaking about his late wife, Robert Levine said:
Mary was my life, my light, my love. The emptiness I feel without her with me is without bottom. She was a force of nature who fiercely defended her autonomy even as her health was failing. Mary was fearless, determined, and willfull. If she felt strongly about something, or that there was truth to be told, she would do it, no matter the consequences.
For Mary Tyler Moore, Robert Levine was a loving husband, caring man, and dear friend who never left her side. And after her death, Levine still loves his wife with all his heart. Their story proves once more that there are no obstacles a true love cannot conquer.
