Steve Wilkos will hold his most recent memory of late friend and mentor Jerry Springer close to his heart.

The “Steve Wilkos Show” host spoke exclusively with Access Hollywood following the death of the talk show icon on Thursday and reflected on the last time they’d seen each other and why the conversation has so much more meaning to him now.

“I saw Jerry a little over a month ago. It was a Wednesday, I got done taping and he sent me a text he goes, ‘Hey, I was in New York I’m coming up I’d love to see ya,’” Wilkos recalled.

The TV personality went on to remember how he felt tired that day but made sure to make plans with Jerry because they hadn’t seen each other in a while. Wilkos said the gathering ended up having more emotional weight than their usual meetups but he had no idea at the time that it would ultimately be their final time together.