‘Dallas’ Star Patrick Duffy Shares Surprising Way He Found Love With ‘Happy Days’ Star After Wife’s Death
Dallas star Patrick Duffy has found love again at the age of 73 with former Happy Days star Linda Purl, and in a new interview, the iconic television actor shares the unusual way the couple bonded when they first got together.
Duffy — who played Bobby Ewing on Dallas during the show's run from 1978-1991 — tells People that when he and the 67-year-old Purl first shared some time alone during the pandemic, they formed a bond by cooking together.
"When we got together, I can actually remember I arrived late in the afternoon, and we had dinner and we cooked dinner in the kitchen. And it was a dance that we had never done together, but the choreography was known to both of us," Duffy relates.
"Linda is a master cook, and I learn every day from the way that she cooks," he shares. "Our lifestyles make us very compatible in almost every conceivable way. In the kitchen, the way we cook, the way we clean, the way we function together as individuals."
Duffy and Purl — who played Richie Cunningham's girlfriend Gloria on Happy Days in a guest appearance in 1974, then returned to the show from 1982-1983 in the featured role of Fonzie's girlfriend, Ashley Pfister — had been casual friends years ago, but had lost touch. Duffy's wife of more than four decades, ballet dancer Carlyn Rosser, died in 2017 after battling cancer, and he and Purl became reacquainted when they ended up on the same group text chain with mutual friends during the pandemic. As the weeks went by, they began to develop a connection and text exclusively with one another.
Finally, he told People in 2020, "I loaded up my car and drove 20 hours and ended up on her doorstep just to see if it was real. We haven’t been apart since.”
The couple's kitchen compatibility has spawned a new business venture called Duffy's Dough, which includes a dehydrated sourdough starter that's been in Duffy's family "at least 70 years," he says.
The idea began when Duffy made sourdough pancakes for Purl early on in their relationship, which was her first exposure to the family recipe.
"Now I didn't think I was ever going to start a business, but Linda is Linda and took it and ran with it instantly," Duffy relates. "We have been dehydrating the original sourdough starter. So it's absolutely pure from the time that my mother received it."
Duffy's Dough is available to order in limited release through mid-December. Each kit includes a dehydrated starter, flour, sugar and a rolling pin, as well as additional kitchen utensils. The first 200 kits also include an apron bearing Duffy's signature, as well as a recipe book both he and Purl have autographed.
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