Charo Details Tragic Moment Her Husband Shot Himself in New Video

Charo spoke out about the immediate aftermath of finding her husband of 40 years dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in February. In her first televised interview since losing Kjell Rasten five months ago, the Spanish singer and actress appeared on The Talk on Thursday, detailing her final day with Rasten, 78.

She said that his behavior was slightly abnormal in the hours before his death. She said that he was “so proud” of her performance a few days prior in Palm Springs, but things seemed “strange” when they returned home to Los Angeles.

“We had dinner, but he did not talk. During the dinner he talked very little,” she recalled. “Then when he went to go to sleep, he looked at me very strange, like he wanted to talk to me.”

The Dancing With the Stars alum continued, explaining that she does not believe he wanted her to discover him — but she did, in an alley near their home. “I thought that he fell down,” she said. “I ran to him, because I thought he fell, and I hugged him and I was full of blood. My hair was full of blood, like I had a shower of blood.”

A passing celebrity bus noticed her “screaming [for help in] the street” and someone on board called an ambulance, she said, but that Rasten died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following five hours in surgery. She said that a police officer was forced to break the news to her that her husband had died by suicide, not from an accidental fall. “‘Sit down, he did not fall down, he put a bullet in his head,’” she recalled the police officer saying. “And that moment, I had a bullet in my heart.”

Although she said she had “no clue” that her husband was suicidal, Charo spoke about the factors that may have contributed to his death, including a diagnosis of a rare skin condition. She explained that his physical and mental health had declined in recent years due to bullous pemphigoid, an autoimmune disorder that causes chronic blistering of the skin, and the medications (including steroids) he was prescribed to treat it. Charo said he became “very depressed. That, along with the many medications he needed to take, became too much for him.”

She added that he was “the best husband, the best father, the best companion.”

She urged viewers at home and in the studio audience to watch for signs of depression and asked The Talk co-host Sheryl Underwood how she survived losing her own husband to suicide a few years ago. “I had to choose life, and I put God first,” Underwood replied, saying that she and Charo share a “sisterhood in this way.”

Suicide Lifeline: If you or someone you know may be struggling with suicidal thoughts, you can call the U.S. National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255) any time of day or night or chat online.

Photo credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez / Staff / Getty