Meat Loaf’s Widow Remembers the Rocker as a ‘Hugger’ and a ‘Kind Man’

Meat Loaf‘s wife has recounted the happy life — and daily hugs — she shared with the late rocker.

Speaking exclusively with People, Deborah Aday spoke of the “Bat Out of Hell” singer’s good nature, and the “gut-wrenching” experience that was his passing last Thursday (Jan. 20), at the age of 74.

“Some of my fondest memories will always be about how we so often laughed, and how we brought out the silliness and playfulness in each other,” she tells the celebrity news title. “Michael was a hugger – such a physically affectionate and kind man, and I’m grateful that he brought out those traits in me.”

The couple married in 2007, and “there wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t tell the other how much we loved them. Not a day that we didn’t hug each other,” Aday reminisces.

Millions of music fans and entertainers mourned Meat Loaf when news of his death broke. Many are remembering his talents by turning to his music. 

In the United States, streams of his catalog soared 2,583% in the days since his death, while sales of his songs and albums  made sizable leaps, Billboard reports.

It’s a similar story in the U.K., where several Meat Loaf songs are on track for a return to the Top 20 and a string of his albums are flying high on the midweek chart.

“I was lying close to Michael when he took his last breath and my sadness is beyond words,” his widow explains. “I’ve always called him by his given name because I didn’t see him as ‘Meat.’ I feel much gratitude for the outpouring of love I have received from around the world.”

She added, “He meant so much to so many people, and it gave me joy to be able to share him with the world. As his wife, I also want everyone to know how much he meant to me as a husband.”

Throughout a career that spanned 12 full-length albums, Meat Loaf scored one Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, 1993’s five-week leader “I’d Do Anything for Love,” among seven top 40 hits (in 1978-95). On the Billboard 200, the song’s parent album Bat Out of Hell II became his sole No. 1 among six top 40 entries in his lifetime.

In the U.K., Meat Loaf landed 12 Top 10 albums, including No. 1s with Dead Ringer and Bat Out of Hell II – Back Into Hell. Though it never reached the summit, his signature ‘70s album Bat Out of Hell is one of very few titles to log more than 500 weeks on the Official Album Chart (it’s currently at 522 weeks). During his lifetime, he landed seven Top 10 singles on the U.K. chart, including a No. 1 for “I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That).”