Bob Barker and Nancy Burnet on Capitol Hill, June 13, 2000 in Washington.Photo:Alex Wong/Newsmakers/Getty
Alex Wong/Newsmakers/Getty
Burnet shared withEntertainment Tonightthat her late partner — whodiedon Aug. 26 at age 99 — would have reveled and joked about making it to 100.
“He’d just say, ‘100, I can’t believe it,'” she said on Tuesday, adding that he’d joke, “‘And I’m just as cute as I ever was.'”
Burnet also shared that what she misses most about the formerPrice Is Righthost is his sense of humor. “We had a very similar humor about things. Kind of rather dry humor,” said Burnet. “I guess just chatting [too]. He had a really wonderful, charmed life."
The couple first met in March 1983 at an animal adoption event that Barker was emceeing. Burnet, an activist involved with animal legislation, had heard about Barker’s event and hoped he would help raise awareness around a proposal she had to stop pet stores from selling chicks and ducklings around Easter time.
Bob Barker and Nancy Burnet on October 13, 2012 in Hollywood, California.Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic
Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic
In her interview withET, Burnet recalled, “That first day, he walked over to me … and said, ‘Hi, I’m Bob Barker. Are you here to adopt a dog?’ And I said no and I ended up adopting a dog anyway. It was the last one. He didn’t want to go back into his cage, so, of course I took him with me. And then he invited me to dinner that day.”
But Burnet declined his offer and told him that she couldn’t because she drove her friends to the event, so “it would have to be some other time." Burnet recalled that Barker was persistent and told her, “Let your friends drive your car home and I’ll drive you home.”
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While Barker’s attempt at a first date wasn’t entirely smooth, eventually, the two began dating and embarked on a relationship that spanned four decades. At the time of their first interaction, both Barnet and Barker did not want to get married. (Barker’s wife,Dorothy Jo Gideondied two years earlier from lung cancer in 1981.)
Barnet shared that they discussed the prospect of ever wanting to remarry at the start of their relationship. “He said no, and I said, perfect, because neither do I. We can move forward. Well, that lasted for a while and then eventually he did – many times – propose over the years," she toldET.
Bob Barker and Nancy Burnet in New York City on May 17, 2002.Henry McGee/MediaPunch/Alamy
Henry McGee/MediaPunch/Alamy
Throughout the multiple proposals, Barker worked with an attorney in 2011 to draft a prenup just in case Barnet conceded.
“I have a keepsake,” joked Barnet.
source: people.com
