Amanda Kloots is looking back on one of her last family outings with her late husband Nick Cordero.
“The Talk” co-host shared a throwback photo from her 38th birthday celebrations on March 19, 2020. In the snap, Nick wrapped an arm around Amanda and held onto their then-infant son, Elvis.
“Our last family photo taken on my birthday last year,” she captioned the snap. “Nick started feeling tired on this night so after dinner we went to bed early.”
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“Nick kept telling me that day, ‘next year I’ll give you the best birthday ever.’ It was early quarantine days so we felt lost, unable to do anything. Despite that, I still had a lovely day,” she continued.
Later that March, Nick was taken into intensive care and diagnosed with COVID-19. The Broadway star, 41, went on to have a grueling, months-long battle with the virus, during which he fought lung infections, had two mini strokes and got his right leg amputated. He died of COVID-19 complications on July 5 at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.
Amanda went on to share her feelings as the one-year mark of her birthday and that final family photo nears.
“The truth is, this is week is very hard and I’m sad. I’ve been dreading it and it’s caught up to me,” she wrote. “This isn’t easy for me, but I truly believe in honoring the highs and lows in grief. The rollercoaster is full of many including twists and turns. If I’m not honest about them how do we learn and help each other through this part of life?”
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“Life is precious. Time is precious. Health is precious. Treasure it all and don’t take it for granted because it’s the best birthday gift you can give yourself and to anyone,” she continued.
Nick Cordero and Amanda Kloots: Sweet Photos
View GalleryAmanda and she documented her family’s story and challenging past year in her forthcoming memoir, “Live Your Life.”
The dancer and fitness guru gave fans a peek at the book, which she co-write with her sister Anna, on Instagram.
“I received the galley copy of Live Your Life today. Holding the first copies of my memoir almost a year to the date that Nick got sick is surreal to say the least. Thank you @harpercollins and my talented co-writer sister @annakloots – I’m proud of us sister. Could not have done this without you,” she wrote in part.
She added in her video of the unboxing, “I’m really, really proud of this book. I’m proud of Anna and I, and I hope you read it. It is a story of great love and great loss and the struggle of covid19 but it also is a story about family and faith and finding silver linings.”