Alan Thicke's ex-wife, Gloria Loring, recently spoke on the Growing Pains star's death and how it has impacted her family.

Loring, the mother of Robin and Brennan Thicke, spoke with Us Weekly this week about her experience with her late ex-husband and why his death has already left such a profound effect.

"It's deep and it's a profoundly sad wound to our family," Loring said. "Anytime you lose one of the major father-mother figures in a family, it's very hard. And Alan was definitely a big presence in our family. If he entered the room, the party started. He just had a great sense of humor and a wonderful energy. We all loved him."

Loring was married to Alan from 1970-86, and despite their divorce, they remained close through the years and often saw each other at family functions. Loring told a touching anecdote about her ex-husband at Robin's Thanksgiving gathering last month.

"He was entertaining the people," Loring said, of her ex-husband. "He was talking and visiting and quipping and throwing the funny lines around and just being the host. He was always the host. When we were married, I was in the kitchen and he was the host. And he had a very funny line. In fact, I told him, I said, 'I swear, I stayed married [to you] a lot longer than I would have because you were so darn funny.' And at one point, he said to somebody, 'No, Gloria and I have a great marriage. It's a 50/50 marriage. She cleans and I dirty.'"

Alan's legacy in Hollywood was expansive, from his iconic role as Dr. Jason Seaver in Growing Pains to his various talk shows to his career as a TV theme composer from shows like Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life.

A memorial service for Alan was held Sunday.

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