Bob Barker’s longtime girlfriend Nancy Burnet opens up about the legendary game show host’s final days – and reveals why they NEVER married after 40 years together (even though he proposed ‘many times’ over the years)

Bob Barker’s longtime girlfriend Nancy Burnet has opened up about the legendary game show host’s final days, revealing why they never married, even though he’s proposed to her “many times” over the years.

Bob, who hosted CBS’s The Price Is Right for 35 years, died of natural causes on Saturday at the age of 99.

Now 79-year-old Nancy, who began dating Bob 40 years ago in 1983, has spoken out about the TV star’s “quiet” and “simple” life before his death, speaking to the Today show.

“He lived a very simple, quiet life, nothing extravagant or unusual,” she said.

Nancy explained that Bob was “healthy” and “strong” to the end, adding, “Even in his final stages, he wasn’t that thin.” You know, some people are very thin, skinny and fragile at that age. He was not.’

Bob’s publicist, Roger Neal, confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his Hollywood Hills home this weekend.

“It is with great sadness that we must announce that the greatest MC in the world to ever live, Bob Barker, has left us,” he said in a statement.

Nancy – who is president of United Activists for Animal Rights – first met Bob in 1983 at an animal adoption event, and the two quickly bonded over their love of wildlife.

“My boyfriend and I were there and we were just standing around looking around and he walked up to me and introduced himself,” she recalled when they first crossed paths 40 years ago.

The two quickly began dating, and she recalled taking trips to Santa Barbara and Las Vegas together in the early years of their blossoming romance.

As things got more serious, Nancy explained that she made the decision to keep their relationship out of the public eye because she was concerned about how dating a blossoming TV star would affect her personal life.

“I’ve kept my relationship with him very low key because people treat you differently when they know there’s a celebrity involved,” she said.

As for why they never get married, Nancy revealed that Bob made it known from the start that he had no interest in walking down the aisle a second time.

Before meeting Nancy, he was married to Dorothy Jo Gideon from 1945 until her death from lung cancer in 1981.

Nancy had also gone through a divorce before dating the Price Is Right star, and had no desire to tie the knot again either.

She explained that at the start of their relationship, the two agreed that they didn’t want to get married, but after a few years together, he changed his mind.

She said the star has proposed to her “many times” over the years — and even had a prenup drawn up once — but she hasn’t changed her stance on the matter.

“When we started seeing each other, that was one of the things we talked about in the beginning, about (if we would ever) remarry,” she said.

And he said, ‘No, no, he would never remarry.’ And I said, “Perfect, because I have no intention of ever remarrying.”

“Then several years passed, and he proposed to him many times. I think it was in 2011, maybe, that he had his lawyer draw up a prenup and sent it to me.

“I just didn’t accept that. I did not want to. I just never wanted to remarry, to anyone. And so we just carried on as we were.’

On the way they made their love work for so many years, she said the key was “having fun together.”

“People sometimes forget (to have fun) after they’ve been together for a while. But if they can keep that in their relationship, it will last a long time and will get you through some tough times,” she said.

Nancy added that while they were “a real couple” for many years, their “relationship grew into more of a friendship towards the end of his life.”

“(I would describe our relationship at the end) as a friend and companion,” she told the outlet, adding, “I oversaw every aspect of his health, of his care.

‘I was in contact with the caring nurses every day, all day long, and they came to see me at night.

“If there was ever a problem and I talked to them late… I did it with great pleasure, to make sure he was taken care of in the way everyone should be, honestly, but not everyone has the advantage that he did.’

Bob hosted The Price Is Right from 1972 to 2007. Prior to that, Bob directed Truth or Consequences from 1956 to 1975.

In the early years of his career, he also hosted his own radio show for six years and hosted the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants from 1967 to 1987.