Yahoo Lifestyle Meredith Vieira Endures Heartbreaking Family Loss on Christmas Eve
Meredith Vieira is mourning the loss of her beloved husband, Richard Cohen.
Cohen, a veteran journalist who was married to Vieira for 38 years, died on Christmas Eve 2024 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. He was 76.
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The heartbreaking news was announced during the Tuesday, Jan. 7 episode of the Today show. Hoda Kotb said Cohen was "surrounded by his family and love" at the time of his death, People reports.
Cohen shared three adult children with Vieira: daughter Lily, 32, and sons Gabriel, 34, and Benjamin, 36. According to Kotb, their whole family gathered together for Thanksgiving after being "concerned they were going to lose him early."
"Instead, they got a glorious month with their dad," Kotb, 60, stated.
Today's Savannah Guthrie chimed in to share how Vieira, 71, is holding up during this difficult time.
"She's in really good spirits," Guthrie, 53, stated. "She was such a beautiful and devoted wife to Richard and he adored Meredith. And hanging out with them, they were like the most fun and entertaining, irreverent, cool couple you could hang out with."
Cohen, who married Vieira in 1986, was diagnosed with MS at 25. He had been living with the disease for 10 years when he told Vieira about his diagnosis on their second date, and apparently the TV broadcaster "didn't blink."
“You don’t have to be controlled by it,” he told Yahoo! Life in 2019. “I can give you a long list of things that I can’t do anymore. You just sort of learn to accept that. I look at our three kids, I look at our relationship, I’ve written four books … what do I have to complain about?"
