Amy Yasbeck still speaks to late husband John Ritter every day, 23 years after his death

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: John Ritter’s widow, Amy Yasbeck, is keeping the late actor’s memory alive through daily conversations and shared family moments.

In a new interview, the 64-year-old actress revealed that she continues to talk to Ritter, who died in 2003 at the age of 54. Yasbeck also opened up about what she misses most about her husband and how their family continues to honor his legacy more than two decades after his death.

Amy Yasbeck reveals how she stays connected to John Ritter

Speaking to Page Six, Yasbeck revealed that she still talks to Ritter every day and regularly checks in with him.

“I still talk to John,” she said. “I check in all the time. … I talk to him every day.”

Yasbeck also explained how she and Ritter’s three children from his previous marriage find ways to remember him through things they believe he would have enjoyed. Whether it is discovering a new comic or watching physical comedy, these moments bring the family closer to his memory.

She explained that such experiences make them feel that Ritter “is with us or beside us.” Reflecting on her loss, the 'Pretty Woman' actress said the thing she misses most is watching her late husband being a father to his children.

“That encompasses everything,” Yasbeck said, describing what she misses about Ritter. “His humanity, his comedy, his empathy, his frustration at the world.”

Ritter welcomed sons Jason, 46, and Tyler, 41, and daughter Carly, 44, with his first wife, Nancy Morgan. The couple were married from 1977 to 1996. He later welcomed son Noah, 27, with Yasbeck in 1998, a year before they tied the knot.

Yasbeck also recalled how Ritter reacted when children were treated unfairly. She explained that such situations “would piss [Ritter] off,” whether they involved children generally or his own family.

“I mean, for the world, but also for his kids. Like, what are we doing?” she said, adding that his role as a father encompassed everything about him.

Amy Yasbeck honors John Ritter through his family and foundation

Ritter died suddenly on September 11, 2003, after collapsing on the set of his ABC sitcom '8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter.' He died from an aortic dissection, a rare but life-threatening condition involving a tear in the inner lining of the aorta, the body's main artery responsible for carrying blood away from the heart.

Just weeks after his death, Yasbeck founded the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health to raise awareness about the condition and help prevent others from experiencing a similar tragedy.

Speaking to PEOPLE at the foundation's 20th Anniversary Evening in 2023, Yasbeck explained that keeping Ritter's family together was an important part of his legacy.

“The legacy is keeping his family alive,” she said.

She also recalled Ritter's belief that everyone was connected and that everyone was part of one family.

“And he thought everyone was connected and everyone is everyone’s family, which I believe, but he believed it very deeply,” Yasbeck added.

She explained that her efforts to understand aortic dissection, particularly its genetic component, were also driven by her desire to protect Ritter's children and his brother.

Yasbeck previously told PEOPLE in 2024 that she and her family, including Ritter's children, continued to honor him through their group text.

She explained that they regularly shared videos featuring physical comedy, people falling down or even birds pooping on unsuspecting people. These everyday moments of humor reflected the kind of comedy Ritter enjoyed and allowed the family to continue feeling connected to him.