Amy Yasbeck has spent the last 19 years navigating life without her husbandJohn Ritter physically by her side.
“I miss John as a partner,” the 60-year-old widow shares exclusively withPEOPLE from her Los Angeles home.
Although she’s done her best to keep his memory alive and move forward, thethought of opening her heart to someone new seems daunting.
“I don’t date,” Yasbeck says. “I mean, it could happen. I’m not in the mood. Ithink I would miss John more if I was dating, as weird as that sounds. Butbecause I always feel like he’s with me, and that would be weird because inthat case, three ain’t company.”
Amy Yasbeck acting again at 60 after John Ritter’s death. Credit: RochelleBrodin
Amy Yasbeck
The couple with in 1990 during a table read for Problem Child at the houseof director Dennis Dugan. They quickly connected over their love of the artsand tied the knot nine years later in September 1999.
“John and I bonded about comedy, where we’d watch old comedies,” Yasbeckexplains. “He would do moves and he would teach me how to trip or take a fakepunch or spit take. I was learning that kind of stuff, physical comedy fromthe master, which John was.”
But on Sept. 11, 2003, Yasbeck’s life flipped upside down when Ritter was onthe set of 8 Simple Rules and suddenly fell ill. The actor was rushed to aBurbank hospital, where he initially was treated for a heart attack, but hedied later that evening of what was an undetected aortic dissection at54-years-old.
According to the Mayo Clinic, an aortic dissection is a serious condition inwhich a tear occurs in the inner layer of the body’s main artery, or theaorta. Blood rushes through the tear, causing the inner and middle layers ofthe aorta to split. If the blood goes through the outside aortic wall, likewhat happened to the Three ‘s Company star, an aortic dissection can bedeadly.
Amy Yasbeck for I Wish I knew
courtesy Amy Yasbeck
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Over the years, Yasbeck and Ritter worked on several projects togetherincluding The Cosby Show, Problem Child 2 and even an episode of Yasbeck’shit series wings where she says Ritter would always leave his mark.
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“He was an excellent person to have on a set and when anybody who’s an actor,including me, says, ‘Hey, you remind me of John Ritter, how you talk to thatcamera person or how you’re relating with the guest stars “That’s the highestcompliment,” Yasbeck says. “The set was a place where John was first, second,third, didn’t matter on the call sheet. It was a whole kind of shine to thewhole thing.”
“Whether there was an audience there or not, he just didn’t turn it on whenthe audience was there. You were entertained all day long and your ego was fedin an appropriate way,” she continues. “He loved show business. He was almostlike a conductor that was also being the symphony. I don’t know how he did it,but it was amazing.”
Amy Yasbeck for I Wish I knew
courtesy Amy Yasbeck
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Although Ritter’s physical presence is no longer apart of her every day life,Yasbeck keeps John’s memory alive by trying to prevent another family fromexperiencing similar heartbreak.
“I have been dedicated heart and soul and mostly aorta, to creating the JohnRitter Foundation for Aortic Health,” Yasbeck shares. “It takes up a greatdeal of time, but it needed to happen and it has already had some beautifulresults in just the awareness that’s brought to aortic dissection and aortichealth in general.”
Not only does Yasbeck help those she’s never met, but her work has also helpedsave other family members on John’s side — many of whom she’s still close withtoday.
“Our family doesn’t know what the Ritter genetic anomaly is to look for, butwe know there is one because John’s brother, Tom, actually had an aneurysm acouple years after John passed away that was found,” Yasbeck explains. “Thenhis aortic arch was completely repaired, replaced, as a matter of fact,because we knew to look for that.”
“All of the family gets scanned, all the first-degree relatives, and it’snever going to sneak up on us. It’s something repairable and preventable,” sheadds. “But if you don’t know that your family’s at risk or if you’re not awareof aortic dissection at all, it can come out of the blue and you can learn thehard way, like we did when John was misdiagnosed.”
Amy Yasbeck acting again at 60 after John Ritter’s death. Credit: RochelleBrodin
Rochelle Brodin
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As the 20 year anniversary of her husband’s death approaches, Yasbeck may notbe ready for a new physical relationship, but she’s ready to focus on anotherkind of love in her life that John brought out in her: acting.
“I think I’m ready to get my ducks back in a row,” Yasbeck says. “Get some ageappropriate headshots and get going. I love it so much. My favorite thingabout acting is the little families that you make. I love having a call sheetand I love the community. Work on here, you work on there and then you go hometo your real family [and] then you’ve got your work family. I like that.”