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Mark Wahlberg shares the heartwarming ritual he had with his late mom

The Wahlberg matriarch passed away at the age of 78 in April.
/ Source: TODAY

Mark Wahlberg is reflecting on grief, three months after announcing the death of his mother, Alma.

"The first phone call that I made every single day for the last 10 years, was to my mom. And I don't get to make that phone call anymore," Wahlberg told Fatherly. "And it’s heartbreaking."

Those daily catchups also meant everything to Alma, who passed away at the age of 78 in April.

“Mark calls me from all over the world,” she told TODAY’s Sheinelle Jones in 2018. “I don’t care if it’s 3 o’clock in the morning!”

Wahlberg, who is one of 9 children, praised his sister for being the family’s “emotional support system" in the wake of their mother's death.

“I just went to Boston to have my birthday party — she had a birthday party for me at her house, the way my mom would have always had for me,” the "Joe Bell" actor revealed. “It didn’t really hit me until it was time to cut the cake. And then I realized, wow, both of my parents are not here…”

Wahlberg noted that the siblings have been leaning on each other for comfort, which he knows would make Alma happy.

“We’re now communicating much more than we were because everybody obviously was off doing their own things and they’d be in their own lives,” he said. “And now we’re constantly doing a multi-person FaceTime.”

That’s all Alma ever wanted for her children. Wahlberg said she was “most proud” of the life he created with wife Rhea Durham and their kids, Ella, 17, Michael, 15, Brendan, 12, and Grace, 11.

“I mean, she always appreciated the successes and the things that I was able to do professionally,” he said, “but the personal growth really meant something to her.”