Sad news for the television world today: Meredith Vieira's husband, Richard Cohen, has died.
Fittingly, the news was shared this morning on the Today show, where Meredith worked as a presenter from 2006 to 2011.
Hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie revealed that Cohen died on Christmas Eve.
Kotb, visibly moved, added that he was “surrounded by family and love” in his final hours.
Kotb noted that Vieira and Cohen's three adult children, Benjamin, Gabriel and Lily, had been “afraid of losing him prematurely” when the family gathered for Thanksgiving.
They could have taken solace in knowing that he held his own during the holiday season.
“They had a glorious month with their father,” she explained.
The cause of death of Richard Cohen
Cohen died after a 50-year battle with multiple sclerosis.
According to Page sixhe was diagnosed at the age of 25, long before he met Vieira.
Richard reportedly opened up about his health issues during their second date. The couple married in 1986.
The struggles of his life
In addition to his battle with MS, Cohen beat colon cancer twice: first in 1999 and again in 2000.
He wrote about his illnesses and the support he received from Vieira in his 2018 memoir, Chasing Hope: A Patient's Deep Dive into Stem Cells, Faith, and the Future.
“Spouses have the burden of meeting the needs of a loved one, even if they secretly prefer to push them out the window,” he writes.
“I knew they shouldn’t be treated like spectators when they’re in the ring with us,” he added.
Meredith and Richard were in the ring together for almost 40 years of marriage. And we are sure that she will continue to fight for the causes that are so close to her heart.
Our thoughts are with Richard's loved ones during this extremely difficult time.
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