Meredith Vieira’s husband Richard Cohen dies at 76 after decades of battling MS and fighting cancer twice
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Former 'Today' host Meredith Vieira suffered a tragic loss recently as she lost her husband of 38 years, Richard Cohen, on Christmas Eve after his battle with Multiple Sclerosis for more than five decades.
Cohen’s death at the age of 76 on December 24, 2024, was announced during the Tuesday, January 7, episode of 'Today' when hosts Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie shared the news.
Cohen was not only the husband of the former 'Today' host but also an accomplished journalist. The stalwart newsman was a journalist, television producer, and author who worked as a senior producer for CBS and CNN.
Former 'Today' host Meredith Vieira's husband Richard Cohen dies at 76
During Tuesday’s episode, Hoda Kotb shared, “Richard Cohen died on Christmas Eve surrounded by his family and love," reported Perez Hilton.
The veteran journalist was diagnosed with MS when he was only 25 years old and lived with it for 51 years. In the meantime, he also defeated colon cancer twice.
Kotb added, “Meredith did say that all of the kids came around Thanksgiving because they were concerned they were going to lose him early, but instead they got a glorious month with their dad.”
“And a new grand baby [Meredith] said, which just added so much life,” added Guthrie while talking about Vieira, 71, adding, "She's in really good spirits.”
"She was such a beautiful and devoted wife to Richard and he adored Meredith,” continued Guthrie, before recalling, “And hanging out with them, they were like the most fun and entertaining, irreverent, cool couple you could hang out with."
She concluded the segment by showing support for the former 'Today' host by adding, “We love you, Meredith.”
Richard Cohen and Meredith Vieira were married for 38 years
As Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie have said in their segment, Richard Cohen and Meredith Vieira's love story spanned decades. The couple was married for 38 years till Cohen’s death on December 24, 2024, after tying the knot in 1986, according to People.
The couple had three children together - Benjamin, 36, Gabriel 34, as well as daughter Lily, 32.
The 'Today' segment further showed a few clips of Cohen and Vieira's interview, as in 2019, he famously revealed that he told Vieira about his MS diagnosis on their second date.
During an interview with Yahoo Life in 2019, the ‘Strong at the Broken Places’ author shared, “I told her about the illness, because I sort of learned the hard way to get it on the table," before noting, "And she really didn’t blink."
Vieira added, "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," before adding, "It certainly wasn’t enough to scare me off.”
Vieira, who was the original co-host of ‘The View’, shifted to 'Today' later. However, in 2011, she parted ways with the show to take care of her ailing husband. At that time, she shared, “Time is one of those weird things.”
"You can never get enough of it, and it just keeps ticking away,” she shared, before adding emphatically, “And I know that I want to spend more of mine with my husband, Richard, and my kids."
