Richard Cohen, the veteran CBS News journalist and husband of Meredith Vieira, passed away on Christmas Eve at the age of 76 after a long battle with multiple sclerosis, which lasted for 50 years. This was reported in an article by Today on January 7.
On the same day, Today host Hoda Kotb shared the news of Cohen’s death during a broadcast, mentioning that he was surrounded by his family and loved ones when he passed. Co-host Savannah Guthrie also spoke about Meredith Vieira, who hosted Today until 2011. She said, “She’s in really good spirits. Meredith was a beautiful and devoted wife to Richard, and he truly adored her. They were a fun, entertaining, and very cool couple to be around.”
Cohen was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at the age of 25. According to the Mayo Clinic, multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease that damages the protective covering of nerves and can lead to symptoms such as numbness, weakness, trouble walking, and vision problems.
Cohen had shared in an interview that he told Meredith about his MS diagnosis on their second date. “I decided to be upfront with her about it because I learned the hard way to be honest,” he said in a 2019 interview with Yahoo Life. “She didn’t blink at all.” Vieira added that she wasn’t scared off by his condition. “I’ve always thought that any one of us could be hit by a bus tomorrow. It wasn’t something that would scare me away.”
Cohen and Vieira married in 1986 and have three children: Benjamin, 36, Gabriel, 34, and Lily, 32.
Besides his battle with MS, Cohen was also legally blind and had fought colon cancer twice, first in 1999 and again in 2000. In a 2019 interview with People, Vieira spoke about living with Cohen’s illness. “We both vent,” she said. “He has a chronic illness, and it’s hard for him. But I also have my moments. There are days when the limitations affect the whole family, and it’s okay to talk about it. But we don’t dwell on it.”
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