Kelly Rizzo appeared on The Today Show this morning, opening up for the first time in person about the love of her life, Bob Saget.
The Full House star and America’s Funniest Home Videos host died on January, reportedly suffering a heart attack in an Orlando hotel room.
He was 65 years old.
“He put it all out there,” Rizzo said on air, emphasizing just how loving and open a man Saget was throughout his life:
“He told everyone that he loved, and I mean, quite frankly anyone he met — even spend any time with at all — he told them he loved them endlessly, and tirelessly, and that was his entire message.
“If you knew Bob, and he loved you, you knew it. There was never ever a doubt in your mind.
“I mean, even at his memorial, there were a lot of people there and every single person was pretty much like, ‘Oh, I talked to Bob last week.’
“I’m like, ‘How did he have the time to talk to everybody and tell everybody that he loved them? All the time.’ It was just amazing.”
As you might expect, it wasn’t easy for Rizzo to hold back tears when talking about Saget.
She started to cry, for example, when Hoda Kotb informed her that Saget’s friend, Mike Young, told the host that the comedian always “wanted to catch the first flight” home after shows to be with his family.
“What was always so special is every time he would be out of town, he would always try to,” Rizzo said.
“He loved to sleep in, but when he was away. … He would go to bed at 2 a.m. and then wake up at 4 a.m., so he could be on the 6 a.m. flight so he could come home and just so we could spend time together.”
Added Rizzo, who shared the above snapshot on Instagram recently along with a beautiful tribute to Saget:
“We valued every single second that we had together. That’s why, you know, this is so heartbreaking.”
What was Saget life away from the camera, Kotb asked at one point?
“He was there to just enjoy life,” Rizzo replied. “And he just wanted to make people feel good. I mean, if we went to a restaurant, he would talk to all of the waiters, the waitresses.
“He knew all the hosts.”
She continued:
“Everybody knew him and loved him.
“And his constant message was ‘just treat everybody with kindness’ because he had gone through so much in his life, and he knew how hard life could be.
“And so he always was just so kind and loving to everybody.”
Rizzo, who previously wrote online that she at least has “no regrets” over her time with Saget, added here that she’s “grateful” the couple’s final conversation centered around a very important theme.
“I think I said, ‘I love you dearly.’ And he said, ‘I love you endlessly,’” she recalled.
“And then I said, ‘I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.’ …
“It was just all love.”
One of Saget’s daughters previously shared the final text message she received from her dad — and it was the same thing. All about love.
Through tears, Rizzo said that Saget was “the best man I’ve ever known in my life,” adding in emotional detail:
“He was just so kind and so wonderful, and everybody that was in his life knew it.
“And even anybody that would just casually meet him was like, ‘Wow, this is a special guy.'”
The 65-year-old passed away in Florida earlier this month, and authorities have yet to reveal his cause of death.
Detectives found no signs of foul play or drug use, police said initially.
Saget was laid to rest last week, with many of his former co-stars attending the funeral.
Saget is survived by Kelly and also his three daughters whom he shared with his ex-wife, Sherri Kramer.
Rizzo, who married Saget in 2018, previously broke her silence on Bob’s passing by releasing a statement on January 10.
“My whole heart. Bob was my absolute everything,” she said at the time.
“I am so completely shattered and in disbelief. I am so deeply touched by the outpouring of love and tribute from our friends, family, his fans and his peers.
“When this news is not as raw, I look forward to sharing more of Bob with the world.”
