The news anchor was inundated with prayers

Katie Couric has remembered her first husband, Jay Paul Monahan, on what would have been their 33rd wedding anniversary. 

The star took to Instagram with a sweet throwback from their first dance on their big day. 

MORE: Inside Katie Couric's huge $6.3million Hamptons home she designed with sister Clara

Jay was just 42 when he passed away from colorectal cancer in 1998 and he still has a firm place in Katie's heart. 

WATCH: Katie Couric shares photos from daughter's idyllic Italian honeymoon 

She paid tribute to him with a message in which she also thanked her current husband, John Molner, for his support. 

"June 10, 1989," she wrote. "It would have been 33 years today. Wow. (And special thanks to @johnmolner for always letting me honor Jay.)"

Fans flooded her with prayers and kind words which read: "I love how you always honor his memory and the wonderful life you shared," and, "If anything positive could come of the loss of your first love, it is definitely the work you have done with colon cancer awareness. We thank you for that."

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The couple had married in 1989 and shared two daughters together, Ellie, now 30, and Carrie, 26.

Katie Couric paid tribute to her late husband 

Katie has since gone on to find love again. In September 2013, she announced her engagement to financier John Molner after a two-year romance, and they were married in a small, private ceremony at her house in The Hamptons in June 2014.

READ: Katie Couric celebrates arrival of new family member following daughter Ellie's wedding

MORE: Katie Couric's daughter Ellie Monahan shares heartbreaking wedding detail

In a candid interview with last year, Katie bravely spoke about John’s final days. "I was so worried about letting go of hope, because I didn't want Jay to spend whatever time he had left just waiting to die," she shared.

Katie Couric is now married to John Molner 

"I think it takes extraordinary courage to be able to face death, and I think I was too scared, honestly."

On the lasting impact of their time together, Katie poignantly added: "I understand the fragility of life in a way that will always be with me. It also makes me realize the futility of being mad at somebody, of petty arguments. I always think about what David Cassidy said on his deathbed: 'So much wasted time.'"

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