is devastated by the tragic loss of ex-wife , and a source exclusively tells In Touch he’s working overtime to keep the family together while they sort through the last years of her life looking for answers. 

“He’s absolutely heartbroken, at one time this was the love of his life, she’s the mother of his children,” the insider says.

The Baywatch star, 72, was married to Pamela for 17 years before their divorce in 2006. The late actress opened up about the tumultuous relationship and split in 2007, telling the titular host of Larry King Live it eventually all came crashing down due to David’s rampant alcoholism. 

“I have tried thinking if I just pour out the bottles, if I just be by his side, if I just babysit him, give him more love, do more for him or make him see himself, it will get there,” she claimed. “But the disease of alcoholism is cunning. It’s a baffling disease. And it’s very chaotic. It’s a family disease.” She also accused her ex husband of domestic violence in an interview with Daily Mail after their divorce, though David denied the allegations.

Despite the fact that “it ended terribly for them with so much ugliness,” the insider notes “that kind of connection doesn’t fully go away.” David is heartbroken: “As you can imagine, this is a huge blow for him.”

Most of all, Pamela and David shared a loving bond with their two daughters – and Hayley – for whom the source says, “David has really stepped up to comfort and to make sure everything is getting handled.”

“Having to see his girls so distraught is the toughest thing in the world, and there’s nothing he can do to take the pain away.”

Pamela, who was 62 when she died by suicide, did previously say that she prayed “that [David] gets help because [my daughters] love their father … I want them to have a really good, healthy relationship with their father. It’s like when an alcoholic is wrapped around a bottle and then the family and friends are wrapped around the alcoholic. We’re going to protect it.”

In the intervening years since their split, the Knight Rider actor cleaned up his act and was granted visitation rights with his daughters after Pamela received full custody – though he lost the rights briefly in 2007 after a relapse — and has since mended their relationship. The source adds they’re all relying on each other now to get through Pamela’s tragic death and rebuild their family.

“He is vowing to make sure Pamela’s affairs are all looked after. Apparently, he’s hiring people to handle everything, so the girls don’t have any added stress,” the insider says. “Everyone is completely stunned, they knew Pamela was having financial issues and other struggles, but they had no clue she was in this sort of mental pain, it’s just so horrible but David is doing his best as a dad to be there for his girls.”