3 Years Since His Wife's Death, Patrick Duffy Still Considers Himself a "Married Man" "I Feel Close to Her All the Time"

You may have seen him in Man From Atlantis, Too Good To Be True or even Christmas With A View, but Patrick Duffy is best-known for his role as Bobby Ewing in the CBS primetime soap opera Dallas. After all, you can't miss his charm and good looks.

But behind that sophisticated exterior is a grieving man who mourns the death of his wife, Carlyn Rosser, ever since she passed away in 2017. But though she may be gone, he still considers himself "married."

Their love story began when the now 70-year-old actor was a college graduate. “I was an immature college graduate touring as a narrator with this dance production, and she was a beautiful ballerina 10 years older,” he recalled to Fox News. “We met on the tour bus and that was it — for life.” He knew she was "the one" the moment he locked eyes with his future wife. And then in 1974, the two tied the knot, ready to start the journey of the rest of their lives together. Before they knew it, their tiny family of two had become four when their sons Padraic and Conor were born.

For 43 years, the couple stayed in love and bonded over their shared love of art. "My wife had perfect pitch; she could play concert piano; she was a ballerina; she lived a life that was artistic. And I was drawn into that from a sort-of narrow artistic point of view," he said, according to Town and Country Mag. "That was not the beginning of my education, that was probably my doctorate, what influenced my life from the age of 22 when I met her." She was a major influence in his life, he admits, even helping him heal from the pain of his parents' brutal death, by introducing him to Buddhism.

And because of his success in the show Dallas, he was able to expand their passions together. "Dallas provided an amazing opportunity. It allowed us to look at what we wanted to do most, so this is the house that Dallas built, and the gallery is full of the art that Dallas bought," he said. With so much love in his heart and a deep connection with his wife, her death in 2017 came as a shock to him and their family.

“It was a surprise when she passed," he revealed to NY Daily News. “There was no indication. So that was the big adjustment. My boys were there as stalwarts. But I also realized that, as much as they were trying to buttress old dad up, I’m probably more adjusted to this set of circumstances than they are. You reach a certain age and you realize the road ahead is much shorter than the road behind."

Now, as more than two years have passed, "I can hear her. I can see her,” the actor told Closer Weekly. “I know what she would expect of me, and I try and live up to that. I feel close to her all the time, [but] what I miss most is her touch. I still consider myself a married man.”

Aware that he does have to move on, he told Fox News he would cherish all the memories he had of his beloved. "There are no mistakes in life,” he said. “I can mend every fence I’ve broken and create value out of everything I’ve done if I’m given enough time. I have done it and I still am doing OK. I have worked hard to make the best of life, and it’s been good to me.”