Amanda Kloots remembers Nick Cordero on 2nd anniversary of death
Performer Nick Cordero and wife Amanda Kloots attend a Manhattan premiere in 2017. Cordero died of complications from COVID-19 on July 5, 2020. He was 41 years old. Credit: Patrick McMullan via Getty Images / Sylvain Gaboury
On the second anniversary of his death, "The Talk" co-host Amanda Kloots commemorated her late husband, Tony-nominated Broadway star Nick Cordero, one of several early high-profile fatalities of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Two years ago today Elvis and I said goodbye to Nick,” the 40-year-old Kloots wrote on Instagram Tuesday alongside a photo and video montage of herself, Cordero and their now 3-year-old son Elvis, set to Justin Bieber's 2021 song "Ghost” — the lyrics of which include: "I want you to know / That if I can't be close to you, I'll settle for the ghost of you / I miss you more than life / And if you can't be next to me, your memory is ecstasy."
"It was the hardest day of my life," Kloots went on to say of her late husband's death at age 41, three-and-a-half months after being admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. "There hasn't been a day I haven't missed him. Nick was a presence. His smile and laugh lit up a room. He loved everyone and was a great friend to anyone that knew him."
Relating an anecdote, Kloots wrote, "Last year on this day my girlfriend told me about a beautiful dream she had. We were all at a party and Nick was there looking happy and radiant. When she asked him why he was there he said, 'What do you mean? Today is my birthday. It's the one day I get to come back and celebrate with everyone I love.' Hearing this completely changed my mood. He's celebrating today? He's happy? Birth and death have so many similarities. I can't possibly know what's on the other side but he was sending me a clear message."
She said, "I quickly reframed this day," making July 5 his " 'new birth' day instead of his death day. This idea brought a positive light to an otherwise dark day. I decided then that I will celebrate with him today and always on July 5th."
"I love [you,] honey," she concluded, inadvertently leaving out a word. "I miss you more than life."
Kloots, who has been posting photos of herself and friends vacationing on the Italian island of Capri, placed additional old photos of Cordero on Instagram Stories, where posts cycle out after 24 hours. "We spent part of our honeymoon in Capri," she captioned one photo taken there. "I feel very lucky to be here today as it will always hold a special place in my heart."
