Michael Strahan has paid tribute to his late father Gene, whom he called a "hero", on the first Father's Day since his passing.
Michael's father passed away in September 2020 at the age of 83. Gene had been married to wife Louise since 1957 and they spent 63 years together raising their six children.
"Today is a bittersweet day for me. The first #FathersDay without my hero, Gene Strahan, being with us," Michael shared on Instagram, alongside four pictures of the TV star with his own children.
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"I’m focusing on the sweet moments and everything my Dad taught me about being a man and a father. To Tanita, Michael Jr, Sophia, and Isabella, thank you for giving me the best job and title of all… DAD!"
He added: "Happy Father’s Day to all the dads out there!"
The post showed Michael and Tanita with a river flowing in the back of their snap, while his picture with son Michael Jr saw the pair with big smiles on their faces. Sophia and Isabella were all dressed up in the picture with their father with the three posing in front of a nighttime cityscape.
The fourth was the GMA star and his father.
Shortly after Gene's death, Michael appeared on The Dr. Oz Show and spoke about how he was coping in the wake of losing his dad.
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The former sportstar revealed he had kept all the emails and texts he had received from his loved ones offering their condolences.
Gene passed away in September
"I kept everything," he shared, stating that it was "important" to him to respond "immediately when someone reached out to me".
"I'm getting their real emotion at that time, and I wanted them to get my real emotion at that time as well," he said.
"It was great because it brought smiles to my face to see these people think of my father and my family, and it made me think of some great things with my dad."
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