Tamayo Perry's wife breaks her silence on his shark attack death: 'I had the best life with him, and now it's over'

The heartbroken widow of Tamayo Perry has broken her silence after the actor's tragic death in a shark attack in Hawaii.

Emilia Perry appeared on Good Morning America on Wednesday alongside the actor and surfer's good friend Jesse King to speak about his legacy.

'It was like I went on the best 25-year vacation of my life with him. And now it's over. Now I got to come back to reality,' Emilia said, in tears.

Perry, 49, was found with an arm and leg missing by local surfers on Sunday off Mālaekahana Beach on Oahu's North Shore.

His partner of over two decades added: 'The world knew Tamayo as a surfer and an actor, but to those who knew him best, he was a man of deep faith now taken too soon.

Tamayo Perry's widow Emilia Perry appeared on Good Morning America on Wednesday alongside the actor and surfer's good friend Jesse King to speak about Perry's legacy

'I feel so upset and devastated. But I also have a weird calmness in my heart knowing that he's in a better place.'

A native of Oahu, the skilled surfer's unparalleled charisma landed him roles in Pirates of the Caribbean and Blue Crush before his fatal shark attack last week.

Perry made his mark as a pro surfer on the North Shore before transitioning to lifeguarding.

He started surfing at the age of 12, and by the time he was a teenager, Perry was considered the 'quiet up-and-coming local boy who had to borrow surf boards because he had no sponsors,' according to The Encyclopedia of Surfing.

Perry's friend King told GMA the actor knew the area where he died like the back of his hand.

Perry, 49, was found with an arm and leg missing by local surfers on Sunday off Mālaekahana Beach on Oahu's North Shore

Perry made his mark as a pro surfer on the North Shore before transitioning to lifeguarding

'There was nothing out of the ordinary that would indicate that something bad would happen to him versus anybody else. A regular day,' King said of the tragic day of Perry's death.

Perry and his wife operated the Oahu Surfing Experience, offering surfing lessons. According to his biography on the business’ website, he surfed professionally for over 15 years, highlighted by winning the Pipeline Master trials in 1999. 

Emilia competed as a professional bodyboarder in western Australia before moving to Hawaii when she was 18. She and Tamayo met when she was bodyboarding out to a Pipeline wave.

'A few years later, I picked up a surfboard, we got married and there was no turning back,' she said on the Oahu Surfing Experience's website. 

'The vast amounts of ocean knowledge that Tamayo has ingrained in me over the years is priceless.'

Perry and his wife operated the Oahu Surfing Experience, offering surfing lessons

Honolulu Ocean Safety Acting Chief Kurt Lager said Perry was 'a lifeguard loved by all.'

'Tamayo’s personality was infectious and as much as people loved him, he loved everyone else more,' Lager said at a news conference.

'Tamayo was a legendary waterman and highly respected,' Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi said, calling Perry’s death 'a tragic loss.'

The last fatal shark incident in Hawaii was December 30 when a man surfing off Maui was attacked about 150 yards from shore.