Actor and comedian Patton Oswalt tragically lost his wife of 11 years, true crime writer Michelle McNamara back in 2016 when McNamara died suddenly in her sleep at the age of just 46 years old. It was eventually discovered that McNamara died of a combination of prescription drugs and a previously undiagnosed heart condition.
The couple share one daughter, Alice, who was just 7 years old when her mother died. Oswalt, who has since remarried, is opening up about how he was able to deal with the sudden and unexpected loss of McNamara while also helping his young daughter deal with the loss of her mother.
The comedian opened up to PEOPLE about how he and Alice were able to be there for each other while coming to terms with McNamara's untimely death. We just were very, very honest about, 'Here's how I'm feeling,' " he told the magazine. He also admitted that while they were open about how they were feeling, he did his best to put on a brave face for his daughter, understanding that she needed to have her father there to help her cope with her own sadness without her having to worry about his own grief.
"Although I made sure that a lot of my darkness and sadness I went through without her seeing it, only because she's already suffered this blow by losing her mom, I don't want her memories of me to be of a parent that's despairing even deeper than she is," Oswalt continues. "I don't think that's a good foundation to grow up on, so I went out of my way to deal with myself and just be there as a symbol of strength and happiness for her."
Oswalt remarried actress Meredith Salenger in 2017 and he says his wife and daughter have both been able to bond by watching their favorite shows and simply doing activities together.
Last year, during an appearance on Kevin Nealon YouTube series, "Hiking With Kevin," Oswalt revealed that "there was some weirdness," for Alice when he married Salenger. "When Michelle was Alice’s mom, Alice was 3, 4, 5 – she was still a little kid," Oswalt explained.
"And now Michelle passes away, a year or so goes by, and then I marry Meredith, and now Alice is 10, and both Meredith and I are like, 'You have responsibilities, you have chores.' … You know, we are treating her like a 10-year-old." He went on to explain that Alice didn't necessarily understand why she had to do chores as a 10-year-old when she didn't have to do them when her mother was alive. The funnyman tried to explain that it was because she was older, not because her mother was no longer around.
Thankfully Oswalt told PEOPLE that he and Alice have "made it through the darkness."