Meredith Vieira Has Cared for Her Husband, Whose Vision Was Affected by MS, for Over 35 Years

• Meredith Vieira, the accomplished broadcaster, expresses immense gratitude for her family despite facing challenges.
• Married to Richard Cohen for 37 years, who battles multiple sclerosis and other health issues, Vieira emphasizes the importance of laughter, family support, and finding strength amidst adversities.
• Vieira also feels blessed, cherishes her grown children, and prioritizes family over career.

Meredith Vieira is a phenomenal broadcaster, who in 2005 became the second woman to win a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host as the host of 2002's "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."

Vieira was also a TV host for "The View," which she exited in June 2006. The journalist hosted the "Today" show for five years and left in 2011. Aside from her professional life, the broadcaster has been married for decades. She married Richard Cohen on June 14, 1986.

Vieira and her husband, blessed with three children, Ben, Gabe, and Lily, have shared an intense and incredible life since they met. The duo first met in 1983, thanks to their passion for journalism.

Vieira and Cohen were working for different bureaus of CBS. When they met, they went toe to toe from the start, with Cohen armed with sarcasm and flirting while Vieira was smitten. Still, she had some strong opinions about him.

She recalled, "I thought two things. I thought, what a jerk and then my second thought was, I'm going to marry this guy." Vieira and Cohen have now been married for 37 years. Their marriage hasn't been a smooth ride as Cohen, a veteran journalist, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at 25.

MS didn't stop him from living his life. He has now been living with the disease for over 35 years. The autoimmune disease targets the central nervous system and affects his quality of life. After his diagnosis at 25, Cohen lived in denial as he felt his body was healthy and thought he was beating the disease.

Cohen met Vieira when he had been living with MS for ten years. By this time, he had learned the hard way to get MS on the table, so he told Vieira that he was living with the disease. "And she really didn't blink," Cohen added. The pair hiked, biked, traveled, and jogged until they felt like they owned the world.

Vieira, who starred in "Stepford Wives" alongside Tina Louise, doesn't know why MS didn't faze her but feels like it was because her husband looked very healthy. "It certainly wasn't enough to scare me," she confessed. Still, Vieira admitted that Cohen was living in denial with MS as he was excellent at hiding its symptoms.

Cohen didn't want to be judged as the guy with MS, so many didn't know he was ill. "A secret sickness is not a happy way to live," Cohen acknowledged. The couple also hadn't planned on a specific day when they would tell their kids about their dad's condition. Surprisingly, one day, Ben asked Vieira, "What's wrong with dad?"

Suddenly, Vieira felt like a huge burden had been lifted. The couple learned that it was okay to be identified as someone with an illness. So, Cohen went public with his illness. He found writing about it to be very useful. He talked to people who were newly diagnosed and encouraged them not to let MS control them.

Now, when Cohen looks at their three kids, his relationship with his family, and the books he has written, he sees a lot to be grateful for and nothing to complain about. Vieira also said that Cohen has learned to enjoy where he is without focusing on what will come at the end of the road. "Obviously, Richard carries the burden every day, but, ultimately, illness is a family affair," added Vieira.

Cohen also admitted in his books that MS is a family affair that gives spouses the burden of tending to their sick loved ones. He recognized that a spouse shouldn't be treated as a spectator as they are also in the ring fighting the chronic illness in their own way.

The veteran journalist even admitted that at one time, he recognized how ungrateful he seemed when he nursed his own emotional needs and ignored his wife's. Vieira, who felt ignored, told him, with a face full of desperation, that she was done with MS. Cohen had to change for the better, having recognized how much his wife did for him and how unappreciative he was.

In 2019, Vieira said that Cohen, who is legally blind, is doing okay, but since MS is a progressive illness, they don't know what will come their way the next day. Cohen also uses a walker, which has made him much stronger, as much as he dreaded using it initially.

Coping with the MS well has been a blessing to Vieira and her husband's family. However, she said they have tough days, too, where they allow each other to vent. Cohen is allowed to vent as he has a chronic illness, but Vieira has the same privilege because there are days she can't stand MS and the limitations it puts on their entire family.

Vieira and Cohen don't dwell on the tough days. They use laughter to move forward, as Cohen is a funny man with a good sense of humor.

The broadcaster revealed in 2023 that her husband had a bout of COVID-19 as he was immunocompromised. Cohen had also battled against two bouts of colon cancer. Amidst these challenges, Vieira said she found her strength in family, taking care of herself, and being present.

Vieira and Cohen's kids are now all grown. The broadcaster had chosen family over her job. She left "The View" — a show she co-hosted alongside Barbara Walters and Joy Behar — so that she could raise her kids and be fully present in their lives. Now, her son Gabe is married, having gotten engaged in 2019. She was so excited about her son's engagement that she started googling nicknames for grandmother.

Vieira is an emotional person who admits to having a certain stress level each day, but when she looks at her three kids and husband, she feels like she has nothing to complain about. "I'm blessed," she gushed. The former "Today" host and Cohen say they are grateful for their family regardless of life's challenges.