Exclusive: Former TV Talk Show Host Meredith Vieira and her Husband, Author Richard M. Cohen, Discuss her Decision to Leave The Today Show, Their Struggle With his Multiple Sclerosis, and Their Plans for the Future in the December/January Issue of AARP The Magazine

Vieira: "People want to help, so when we've needed friends in times of any crisis, we ask. And I think it's really important for caregivers not to feel that it's all on you at any given time, because it's not."

WASHINGTON, Nov. 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- December/January cover star Meredith Vieira, former co-host of the Today show, and her husband, author Richard M. Cohen, offer AARP The Magazine a deeply personal and moving glimpse into their relationship, her reasons for leaving the daily morning show, and their family's struggle with Cohen's multiple sclerosis. The couple and their children share the daily challenges the family faces due to Richard's disease. In a series of moving interviews, Meredith, Richard and their children discuss how they make the most of life despite his chronic illness. Personal friends and colleagues, including Vieira's Today co-host Matt Lauer, also provide insight into one of America's most successful couples. 

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The following are excerpts from AARP The Magazine's cover story featuring Meredith Vieira and Richard Cohen, available in homes and online NOW at www.aarp.org/magazine.  

Matt Lauer on Meredith's sense of teamwork

"Meredith likes to be part of an ensemble. She rises to her best in that setting. I can't tell you the number of times I'd go out to an interview, come back to my BlackBerry and the first message would be a text from Meredith saying, 'Fabulous job today.'"

Joy Behar on Meredith's affectionate personality

"She kisses everybody, kisses strangers. I always say that germs are going to go all over the place, but she doesn't care. She's just so affectionate."

Priscilla Warner, Meredith's childhood friend, on the couple's romantic relationship

"How many people our age say I'm going to leave and spend a lot of time with my spouse? You don't give up a very glamorous, stimulating job to spend time with a spouse unless you have a glamorous, stimulating, exciting spouse. They both look at each other that way."

** Quotes from Meredith Vieira **

On pondering whether to leave TV completely

"I thought I'd have a eureka moment. I really did. I thought I'd suddenly go, 'Oh, I know what I want to be!' And I didn't. I didn't come close."

On living with Richard's MS

"He has very bad days. He's so funny; he'll say 'I'm in control. I hate my life but I'm in control. It's good that he vents. He's having a [very bad] day, and what is he going to do, pretend that he's not? But then he'll soldier on."

"He said to me a million times, 'I thought I would beat this. I thought I would be the one.' He's feeling like he's not the one."

"They (the caregivers) are embarrassed. They don't want to put people out."

"People want to help, so when we've needed friends in times of any crisis, we ask. And I think it's really important for caregivers not to feel that it's all on you at any given time, because it's not."

On why Richard and the family have not employed an aide to assist Richard

"Having somebody there would drive him crazy, I think. He hates hovering."

On leaving 60 Minutes and igniting a firestorm about mothers in the workplace

"It was about our particular family and our needs. The rest kind of happened around me."

** Quotes from Richard M. Cohen**

On living with long-term conditions

"If there is anything I've learned it's that progressive diseases progress….you just know on every level that it's a one-way trip. You've never going to cross back over."

"People feel oddly responsible for their illnesses. It makes no sense, but I sometimes blame myself because I'm sick."

"There are so many different diseases, and they do different things to your body. But the coping issues that go with these illnesses are remarkably similar."

"I deny the certainty of possible outcomes. It really frees you up."

On trying medicines for a condition with no known treatments

"I don't believe in any of that stuff. But I do it because I don't want to ever look back and regret that I didn't try something. Or try everything."

An image of the December/January cover of AARP The Magazine featuring Meredith Vieira is available upon request.

Online exclusive: Meredith Vieira has chatted with the likes of President Barack Obama and Madonna in her long career as a journalist and television personality. Now hear her in her own words as she opens up about her personal life, including how her three kids have learned positive lessons from her husband's daily battles with MS. For an intimate glimpse of Vieira's post-Today show life, go to www.aarp.org/vieira.

About AARP The Magazine
With nearly 35 million readers nationwide, AARP The Magazine (www.aarpmagazine.org) is the world's largest circulation magazine and the definitive lifestyle publication for Americans 50+. Reaching over 22 million households, AARP The Magazine delivers comprehensive content through in-depth celebrity interviews, health and fitness features, consumer interest information and tips, book and movie reviews and financial guidance. Published bimonthly in print and continually online, AARP The Magazine was founded in 1958 and is the flagship title of AARP Publications.

About AARP
AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with a membership that helps people 50+ have independence, choice and control in ways that are beneficial and affordable to them and society as a whole. AARP does not endorse candidates for public office or make contributions to either political campaigns or candidates. We produce AARP The Magazine, the definitive voice for 50+ Americans and the world's largest-circulation magazine with nearly 35 million readers; AARP Bulletin, the go-to news source for AARP's millions of members and Americans 50+; AARP VIVA, the only bilingual U.S. publication dedicated exclusively to the 50+ Hispanic community; and our website, AARP.org. AARP Foundation is an affiliated charity that provides security, protection, and empowerment to older persons in need with support from thousands of volunteers, donors, and sponsors. We have staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

SOURCE AARP