Yahoo Lifestyle Kaley Cuoco Recalls How John Ritter Became an 'Instant Dad' to Her During '8 Simple Rules'
Kaley Cuoco is opening up about how life imitated art when she starred on the 2000s sitcom 8 Simple Rules.
The Big Bang Theory star made an appearance on the Today show on Nov. 25 where she spoke candidly about her time on the ABC series, including her relationship with beloved actor John Ritter.
🤩🤩 SIGN UP for Parade's Trending News newsletter & we'll keep you in the know on the viral pop culture moments & celebrity news everyone is talking about 🗞️🗞️
While speaking with Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager, Cuoco detailed the first time she met Ritter, who played her on-screen dad on the show.
“I was playing the ‘hottie next door,’ I can say that now, I’m almost 40,” she said. “So I wore this kind of sexy outfit and John Ritter walked in. I had never met him and I was like ‘oh, John’s here,’ and he walks in and I go ‘Hi, I’m Kaley, I play your daughter.’”
Cuoco continued, explaining that Ritter then “pulls off his jacket, he puts it over me, and he’s like ‘never dress like that again.’ And then he sat down!”
The Flight Attendant star then shared that Ritter told her that “from here on out, I’m your dad and you’re not dressing like that.”
“Did you laugh or was it embarrassing?” asked Kotb, prompting Cuoco to admit that she had a very strong reaction to that moment. “In love! He was an instant dad,” she proclaimed.
Related: Fans Say John Ritter's Son's Hilarious Impression of Him Unlocked a ‘Core Memory’
Ritter, who died in 2003 after experiencing a medical emergency on the set of 8 Simple Rules, is still remembered fondly by fans.
In September, his son Jason Ritter went viral after doing an impression of his late father on social media. It all started when a fan commented on one of his videos on TikTok, asking him to do the “creep face” that John used to make when his character would chase his roommates around the apartment on Three’s Company and Jason complied.
“Is it this one?” he asked, looking into the camera before diving into the impression flawlessly. With a smile, he then wrapped up the video by saying “is it that weird one?”
Fans thanked Jason for obliging, writing “That was really nice of you to do. Your dad meant a lot to us,” and “I love that you honored the request 😂.”
