Charo is paying tribute to her late husband, Kjell Rasten, in a special way.
The Dancing With the Stars alum and her 37-year-old son, Shel, “followed the tradition of many cultures around the world” by planting a tree in Rasten’s honor, she revealed in an Instagram post on Monday.
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“Hola Amigos! Today my son and I followed the tradition of many cultures around the world by planting a beautiful tree to represent when one life ends another begins,” Charo captioned the post, adding that Rasten “will always be with us and will be forever loved.”
“Hola, amigos. We just finished planting this cute little baby cherry tree in honor of my husband,” Charo said in the video shared with her followers. “There is a tradition that when a life finishes, you plant a tree, another life starts.”
“This tree will bring cherries to the birds, to the squirrels, to the neighbors, to us,” she continued before turning to her son. “In memory of your father. Salud. Amor. Happiness. Kjell, rest in peace. You will never, ever, ever, ever be forgotten. I love you.”
“Cheers,” Shel said before the two took a drink from their wine glasses.
Rasten, Charo’s husband-of-40-years, passed away on Feb. 18 by suicide, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed in a coroner’s report. He was found by Charo in the backyard of the couple’s Beverly Hills home “with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.” Although paramedics administered first aid upon their arrival to the scene, Rasten was pronounced dead at the hospital.
According to his son, who spoke to hospital staff, Rasten “had a history of depression” and had been “suffering a lot lately” due to his “declining health.”
Publicly addressing his death for the first time just a month later, Charo said that it had been a “very, very hard” time for her, but that she was thankful for her fans’ “help, your prayers, your support. That keeps me going.”
“I’ve been meditating all this month and I want to let you know that my husband supported my music, each performance was there applauding. So happy for me because he knew that I’m happy when I’m performing,” she continued, adding that she would “continue for his legacy and for the love that I have for entertaining to make people happy.”
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
