Patrick Duffy Remembers 'Dear and Deep' Friendship with Suzanne Somers: 'It Was Unbelievable' (Exclusive)

Patrick Duffy is grieving the death of his close friend Suzanne Somers. 

In a statement to PEOPLE, the actor reflected on the years of friendship, as well as how he’ll remember his leading lady from Step by Step.  

“As with everyone who knew her, I was stunned yesterday by the news that my dear and deep friend Suzanne had passed,” began Duffy, 74. “For that brief moment it was unbelievable.  But indeed she has passed. She beautifully passed through my life on this leg of her endless journey.  My task now is to remain on the roadside as she continues on.”

He outlined some of the things he’ll miss most when remembering Somers, including “the phone calls, the emails, the visits, and the meals and laughter.”

He continued, “But the dialogue of deep and thoughtful, and silly and frivolous continues.  My conversations with her now will be held solely through my daily Buddhist practice.”

Duffy added, “I am not alone in wishing I had one more face-to-face with her and [her husband] Alan, but had we had that meeting last Friday I would still be yearning for just one more today.  It is the painful beauty of our present human reality. What strength and support I can muster I send to Alan and [her son] Bruce and her family and to her I say; When the stone of your life dropped in this pond you made quite a ripple my friend. Thank you.”

Somers and Duffy met while costarring as parents of a blended family on ABC's Step by Step from 1991 to 1998.

In 2014, Duffy addressed the idea of rebooting the series in modern day. “We as a cast get approached about the possibility. Suzanne and I would love the opportunity to work together again. If scripts and circumstances were appropriate, I'm sure something would happen,” he wrote in a Reddit AMA. 

Year later, in 2021, the Dallas alum said he considered Somers his “best friend.”

“She's a mother above all else. She's a caretaker,” he told Entertainment Tonight. “She's just one of the best people. She's a go-to person. If I ever needed something, I know I could pick up the phone and say, 'Suzanne, I really need help on this.' It would be there."

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The Three’s Company actress died Sunday morning surrounded by her immediate family, her publicist told PEOPLE. She was 76 — though Somers would have turned 77 on Monday.