Meredith Vieira Had a Profound Philosophy About Her Late Husband Richard Cohen's MS
Meredith Vieira's husband, Richard Cohen, passed away Christmas Eve 2024 after a five-decade battle with multiple sclerosis.
TODAY anchor alum Meredith Vieira's husband, journalist and author Richard Cohen, has died at 76.
News broke on January 7 that Cohen passed away on Christmas Eve 2024 after living with multiple sclerosis for over five decades.
"I was diagnosed when I was 25 years old and essentially told there is no hope," he revealed during a TODAY segment with Vieira in 2018. "Diagnosed and adios. Nothing much we can do."
Meredith Vieira reflects on husband Richard Cohen living with multiple sclerosis
In an interview with Yahoo Life, as reported by TODAY.com, Vieira revealed that learning of Cohen's prognosis didn't "scare her off" in the slightest. The couple met while working together at CBS and married in 1986.
"I've always been of the school of thought that you could get hit by a bus the next day, any one of us could," she explained. "It certainly wasn't enough to scare me off. Time is one of those weird things. You can never get enough of it, and it just keeps ticking away. And I know that I want to spend more of mine with my husband and my kids."
The couple has three children: Ben, Gabe, and their only daughter, Lily.
Over the years, Vieira was consistently impressed by her husband's character in the face of such serious health issues.
RELATED: What Celine Dion Said on Her NBC Special About Having Stiff Person Syndrome
"I think that Richard was dealt a lousy hand," she said during a 2013 Good Housekeeping interview. "I get angry at that: Why should he have to go through all this? But I've seen what [adversity] does in terms of making you the person you are. I look at the kind of person Richard is and who the kids are. That's the result of what he's been through."
Vieira co-anchored TODAY from September 13, 2006 through June 8, 2011, replacing Katie Couric. Although she left the show in 2011, she remained part of the TODAY family as a special correspondent, popping in and out as needed.
RELATED: Jenna Fischer Found Out About Her Cancer Diagnosis While Hiking: "I Really Lost It"
Vieira last appeared on TODAY in 2022 when she subbed for Jenna Bush Hager on TODAY with Hoda & Jenna. During one memorable episode, Vieira reflected on her decision to leave the show many years ago, explaining to Hoda Kotb that in life, "timing is everything."
