STEVE Wright had heartbreak heaped on top of him in the final years of his life - including the tragic loss of his beloved ex-wife.
The BBC radio legend tied the knot with America-born Cyndi Robinson in 1985 and the pair were happily married for more than a decade.
And while they split in 1999 the parents were said to have remained close friends until Cyndi died four years ago.
Steve tragically passed away on Monday, aged 69.
His son Tom has now revealed he got to know his dad in the months before his death.
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He also opened up about the death of his mum.
Cyndi died suddenly in July 2020 at her home in Midhurst, West Sussex at the age of 65.
A coroner ruled her death as non-suspicious but said there was not enough evidence to “establish the cause”.
Steve proposed to Cyndi on air not long after they met, and the pair had Tom and daughter Lucy together - but divorced in 1999.
It is understood they remained close friends despite him reportedly being heartbroken when she walked out of their home in Henley-on-Thames, Oxon.
At the time, it was reported the divorce was "on the grounds of a two-year separation".
Yet a friend of the radio presenter told The Mirror: "It came out of the blue. Cyndi just said, 'That's it. I'm off."
The father-of-two reportedly ordered takeaway meals and spent much of his spare time working on perfecting his show.
Tom, a recovering addict, wrote of losing both parents: “Thank the Gods I’m sober, as this would have straight up killed me even a couple years ago after losing mum over the pandemic in the same way without getting to see him before he passed after flying back to take care of the old blighter.”
Locals near Steve’s flat, less than ten minutes’ walk from BBC Broadcasting House in Central London, said he had become more withdrawn during Covid.
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They speculated it could have been because of Cyndi’s death, which has not been made public until now.
One neighbour said: “After the pandemic he completely shut down.
"He stopped drinking in the area, he stopped going out.
“He was a different person, even before his radio show ended. He was extremely withdrawn.”
This week Celebrity publicist Gary Farrow, who had been mates with Steve for four decades, also gave an insight into the 69-year-old's life - and said he'd been battling a broken heart.
Gary said Steve was “devastated” to lose his hugely popular Radio 2 slot two years ago.
He blasted BBC bosses who deemed him “too old”, saying there was no one more “current”.
The pal told The Sun: “Steve lived for that show, he absolutely loved it - and the listeners loved him. My view is that he died from a broken heart.”
Gary, who was due to meet Steve for lunch this week, said he was the last “of the old guard” and radio is “all the poorer for it”.
He went on: “Everybody loved him on and off air, although he was actually painfully shy, and never wanted to attend these big dos that bosses wanted to wheel him out at.
“But he just wanted someone at the BBC to put an arm around him every now and then, and say ‘You’re doing a great job, Steve. We all love you.’
“But I don’t think anybody ever did - that’s all he wanted."
