Mary Tyler Moore was married to Dr. Robert Levine for 33 years before she passed away last week. Thus, to say he's mourning her absence would be an understatement—he's lost his other half.
"I can't believe she is gone," he told People magazine for this week's cover story. "Mary was my life, my light, my love. The emptiness I feel without her with me is without bottom."
Moore passed away at the age of 80 on January 25, surrounded by her husband and close friends after being hospitalized with pneumonia due to complications from her long battle against diabetes.
"[Mary] was a force of nature who fiercely defended her autonomy even as her health was failing," Levine said. "[She] was fearless, determined, and willful. If she felt strongly about something, or that there was truth to be told, she would do it, no matter the consequences. She was kind, genuine, approachable, honest, and humble. And she had that smile. Oh, to see her smile that smile, just once more."
Despite missing her fiercely, Levine said he feels a little bit of comfort knowing her spirit will live on.
"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," he revealed. "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."
Moore was laid to rest during a private funeral in Fairfield, Conn., on Sunday before being honored at the SAG Awards later that evening.