Martin Short lost his wife of 30 years to cancer in 2010, he never remarried and says he still misses her

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Martin Short is a name synonymous with comedy and great acting. However, not everything is a bed of roses in the 73-year-old’s life.

The writer faced an immense setback in 2010 when he lost the love of his life, his wife, in 2010 to ovarian cancer. Canadian actress and writer Nancy Dolman and Short had been married since 1980.

How did Martin Short meet Nancy Dolman?

The paths of Short and Nancy Dolman reportedly crossed in 1972 during a Toronto production of ‘Godspell’. For the ‘Only Murders in the Building’ actor, it was love at first sight.

They exchanged vows in 1980 after dating each other and eventually went on to become parents of three children Katherine Elizabeth, Oliver Patrick, and Henry Hayter – via adoption.

Dolman then took a backseat to look after her family as Short continued to work. The ‘Clifford’ star once told AARP magazine, “Our marriage was a triumph.”

Also, in his book ‘I Must Say: My Life As a Humble Comedy Legend’, Short reportedly stated, “In our 36 years together we became so intimately familiar with the workings of each other's minds.”

However, the happiness in their little paradise was relatively short-lived as the two could not grow old together as they wanted.

What happened to Nancy Dolman?

In 2007, Dolman was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The ‘Soap’ actress tragically lost the battle to the disease in 2010.

But for Short, Dolman's presence in his life lingers. He even asserted in his memoir, “I’m still very much married to Nancy.”

The Tony Award winner shared with AAPR in 2019, “I still communicate with her all the time. It’s ‘Hey, Nan,’ you know? How would she react to this decision or that, especially regarding our three kids.”

“To me, she’s still here. At the same time, her death emboldened me to take risks. With real tragedy, you become a little more daring. It’s the yin to the yang: the positive part of life’s dark side,” he added.

Short in his 2014 book also noted that when he’s “really missing her, I’ll grab a rum and Coke at twilight and sit on the couch on our front porch, or perhaps upstairs, on the balcony off of our bedroom, with the Pacific Ocean in view.”

He revealed, “I’ll call out, ‘Hey, Nan’! Forming the words just feels good in the throat. These, our talks, go on internally, not out loud. … But we do talk, Nancy and I, and I can totally hear where she agrees with me and where she disagrees.”