How many kids does Meredith Vieira have? Family life explored as husband, Richard Cohen, passes away

American television personality Meredith Vieira's husband, writer and veteran journalist Richard Cohen, died at the age of 76 on December 24. Cohen reportedly was battling with pneumonia for about two months before he passed away.

Meredith and Richard, who got married in June 1986, also had three children together: a daughter named Lily, 32, and two sons, Gabriel, 34, and Benjamin, 36. Cohen's demise was announced on the Today show on Tuesday, January 7, 2025. Journalist Hoda Kotb then revealed that Richard Cohen had his family around him during his death.

Hoda said:

"We do have some sad news about a beloved member of our Today Show family. Richard Cohen, Meredith Vieira's husband of nearly 40 years, died on Christmas Eve. He was 76 years old."

Hoda further shed light on how Richard Cohen didn't let the adversities of life affect and define him as a person. Hoda then revealed that Richard and Meredith's children were visiting the couple prior to the moment when he died.

According to Hello magazine, Meredith told Hoda that the kids had come on Thanksgiving to spend time with Richard, assuming that they were going to lose him sooner. The veteran journalist, however, spent an entire month with all his children.

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Everything to know about Meredith Vieira's family life and her relationship with Richard Cohen

Richard Cohen and Meredith Vieira first met each other in 1982, and back then, Cohen was already battling multiple sclerosis for about a decade then, as per reports by US Weekly published on January 7. At the age of only 25, Cohen was diagnosed with a chronic neurological disorder.

Four years after their first meet, the couple tied the knot in 1986. In 1989, the eldest child, who was born, was named Benjamin. Richard and Meredith welcomed their second child, Gabriel, in 1991 and their only daughter, Lily, in 1993. In May 2011, Meredith announced that she was leaving the Today show to be with her family.

At the time, Meredith said in a press conference:

"I was extremely torn because I love it here. But I had personal issues that were weighing on me and I felt that I really needed to examine them closely."

Richard and Meredith with their kids, (Photo by Amy Tierney/WireImage)

This was, however, not the first time that Meredith had to choose between her family and career. During the early stages of her career, when she was pregnant with Gabriel and also had Benjamin, who was a baby then. During a June 2022 interview with Hoda Kotb, Meredith Vieira said:

"My back was up against the wall, literally. I was picking between my family and my job at that point, so it was an easy call the minute that it happened."

By this time, Cohen had already battled colon cancer twice, once in 1999 and then in 2000, as per US Weekly. In March 2014, Meredith revealed that Cohen was hospitalized due to a "blood clot in his leg that had partially gone to his lungs."

In 2019, Meredith Vieira told PEOPLE about how she and Richard Cohen would deal with difficult scenarios. She said:

"We definitely allow each other to vent. That's part of the deal. Certainly he’s allowed to vent, because he’s got chronic illness. But I am too."

As for Meredith's children, she seemingly maintained a close relationship with them. She previously confirmed that Gabriel got engaged back in 2020. Social media has further been flooded with tributes to the late journalist.