Suzanne Somers’ Widower Alan Hamel Remembers ‘Every Moment’ from When He Met His Wife of 46 Years (Exclusive)

Alan Hamel immediately felt the attraction of his future wife Suzanne Somers.

Seven years before Somers became a star Three’s CompanyHamel was the host in 1969 Anniversary game when he saw the actress working as an award model.

Hamel tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue — which celebrates Somers’ life and legacy following her death Sunday at age 76 — that he remembers “every moment” of their first meeting.

“We were supposed to shoot in a few hours and there was a crew around me and we were talking about last-minute makeovers,” recalls Hamel, 87. “I look across the stage, and I see the most amazing woman I’ve ever seen in my life. And I thought , ‘I have to go over there and talk to her.'”

He continues, “So I left the team and started walking and I’ve never been good with input lines.” Admitting he felt “a little panicked” about what to say, he says: “So I blurted out, ‘Would you get me a cup of coffee?’ How’s that for stupid? And she did. She brought me a cup of coffee and there was an instant connection like I’d never felt before in my life.”

Read the love letter that Suzanne Somers’ husband, Alan Hamel, wrote to her the day before she died

Gabe Ginsberg/FilmMagic

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After dating for several years and purchasing a private retreat in Palm Springs, California in 1977, the couple married that same year and remained inseparable until Somers died one day before her 77th birthday.

During their marriage, the couple worked closely together to build Somers’ lifestyle brand and wellness empire, with Hamel even serving as Somers’ manager to focus on making career-focused deals that would benefit her long-term.

Suzanne Somers/Instagram

They weren’t afraid to talk about the inner workings of their relationship, including their thriving sex lives, and when Somers was battling breast cancer, their work took a backseat to her health.

“For the past 42 years, we haven’t been apart for even an hour. And one of our sons describes our relationship as ‘functionally codependent,’ which it probably is,” jokes Hamel.

The life of Suzanne Somers in photographs

Kate Jones

For more on Suzanne Somers, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday, or subscribe here.

To celebrate Somers’ life on Monday, which would have been her 77th birthday, the family gathered to toast her memory and eat cake because, as Hamel says, “Suzanne was crazy about cake.”

Looking back on the years of joy and laughter the couple shared, Hamel attributes their successful relationship simply to kismet.

“I mean, I’m a big-city guy from Toronto, and she’s a small-town girl from Northern California,” he says. “What are the odds of these two people meeting? But we met, and for that I am grateful.”

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