Amy Yasbeck, widow of actor John Ritter, has shared that she continues to speak to her late husband, who died 23 years ago. Yasbeck, 64, told Page Six that she talks to Ritter every day, adding that she "checks in all the time."
She later clarified to People that she does not expect him to talk back, emphasizing, "I didn’t say that he [talks] back. I don’t want people to get the wrong idea." Yasbeck explained that when someone is in one's heart, it's natural to check in with them, comparing it to how she still checks in with her father, who passed away when she was 19.
Ritter died in 2003 at age 54 from an aortic dissection. He and Yasbeck met while filming the 1990 comedy "Problem Child" and married in 1999, the same year their daughter, Stella, was born.
Recalling her husband's words, Yasbeck shared that Ritter used to say, "Can I get a witness?" when things happened. She noted that when something unexpected occurs or a memory surfaces, one might wish for a witness, and that person they've lost can stand beside them.
Weeks after Ritter's death, Yasbeck founded the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health. She highlighted the genetic nature of aortic dissection and the importance of awareness, stating that if even one person discovers they are at risk, "an entire family can be saved from the heartache that we went through."
Yasbeck also spoke about the profound grief of witnessing her child's suffering. When Ritter died, their daughter Stella was five years old and starting kindergarten. Yasbeck described the despair of experiencing the tragedy through her daughter's eyes as incomparable to her own loss.
Stella, now 27, is a transgender man named Noah. Yasbeck is also stepmother to Ritter's children from his previous marriage: Jason, Carly, and Tyler.