Today star's husband dies — show pays tribute to Meredith Vieira's longtime love

Richard Cohen, the husband of former Today co-host Meredith Vieira, died at the age of 76 on Christmas Eve. 

Hoda Kotb shared the sad news during Tuesday's edition of the show, which she co-hosted with Savannah Guthrie. 

"We do have some sad news about a beloved member of our Today Show family," began the journalist. "Richard Cohen, Meredith Vieira's husband of nearly 40 years, died on Christmas Eve. He was 76 years old," Hoda continued. "Richard lived for more than 50 years with multiple sclerosis, surviving two cancer diagnoses. 

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"He refused to let any of those challenges define him. He was an accomplished journalist, a devoted husband and father," she added, before a video paying tribute to Richard's life played on-screen. 

Hoda went on to reveal that Richard's children, sons Ben and Gabe and daughter Lily, returned to the family home to spend time with their dad ahead of his passing. "Meredith did say that all of the kids came around Thanksgiving because they were concerned that they were going to lose him early but instead, they got a glorious month with their dad," Hoda explained. 

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Chiming in, Savannah added: "And a new grandbaby, which she said just added so much life. She was such a beautiful and devoted wife to Richard and he adored Meredith."

She continued: "Hanging out with them, they were the most fun, entertaining, irreverent, cool couple you could hang out with."

Richard, who worked for CBS News, was diagnosed with MS when he was in his twenties. He and Vieira were married 38 years. 

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Speaking about his health condition during an appearance on TODAY with his wife in 2018, he said: "I was diagnosed when I was 25 years old and essentially told there is no hope," he said. 

"Diagnosed and adios. Nothing much we can do," he added.

Richard told Meredith about his diagnosis on their second date. Explaining his reasons, Richard told Yahoo Life: "I told her about the illness, because I sort of learned the hard way to get it on the table. And she really didn’t blink."

Reflecting on that moment, Vieira said: "I’ve always been of the school of thought that you could get hit by a bus the next day, any one of us could. It certainly wasn’t enough to scare me off."