Sally Jessy Raphael knows that with Phil Donahue the world has lost a true ally and pioneer.

In an exclusive conversation with PEOPLE, the 89-year-old former talk show host looks back on her late friend’s legacy and how Donahue – who died on August 18 at age 88 – changed the daytime television scene forever by thinking about the women watching at home.

“(Donahue) is known as the inventor of the talk show,” Raphael says. “He invented the whole idea of ​​talk shows. Next came me, then came Ricki Lake, then came Oprah (Winfrey), then came Jerry Springer, then came Maury Povich, then came Geraldo Rivera, then came – well, a whole lot. We’re all born of Phil Donahue.”

Raphael said Donahue – who rarely used a teleprompter – was not afraid to address “taboo subjects,” explaining, “He’s the only one who’s covered all of these topics. Homosexuality, religion, abortion… he did it in the ’60s. Nobody had done it before.” According to Raphael, he also involved the studio audience in the show by asking them for their opinions on the topics and incorporating phone calls from viewers.

He also catered to the “daytime crowd,” which he knew was mostly women, Raphael said. Raphael noted that as an “Irishman,” he could really “talk,” adding, “He liked women and women knew that, and that was very unusual at the time.”

“Men weren’t known for liking women back then,” she continues, remembering how evident his respect and admiration for women was on screen.

The failure The host also looks back at the moment when Donahue met his second wife Marlo Thomas. During the segment where Thomas promotes her film Thieves, The two hit it off right away and later married in 1980.

“You could see it on the screen,” Raphael says of their instant chemistry. “You could see that he was very interested and so was she.”

On Sunday, August 18, Donahue died at the age of 88. In a statement first released by the Today At the broadcast’s release on Monday, August 19, Donahue’s family said the groundbreaking talk show journalist died at his home surrounded by his family, including Thomas, to whom he was married for 44 years, as well as “his sister, children, grandchildren and beloved golden retriever Charlie.”

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The statement said he “passed away peacefully after a long illness.”

In lieu of flowers, his family members asked for donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital or the Phil Donahue/Notre Dame Scholarship Fund.