Zach Braff Shares the Last Text He Ever Got From Best Friend Nick Cordero

Zach Braff is sharing his final promise to close friend Nick Cordero, who died at just 41 on Sunday after a months-long battle with COVID-19. Sharing a photo of the Broadway star and his widow, Amanda Kloots, on Instagram, the Scrubs actor paid tribute to his friend with a heartfelt note.

“Nick Cordero passed at 11:40am today with his wife and mother by his side,” Braff wrote on July 5. “I have honestly never known a kinder person. But Covid doesn’t care about the purity of your soul, or the goodness in your heart.” Braff went on to share the final text message he received from the Tony-nominated actor before he died. “The last thing he ever texted me was to look out for his wife and one-year-old son, Elvis,” he revealed. “I promise the world they will never want for anything. I feel so incredibly grateful I got to have Nick Cordero enter my life. Rest In Peace. Rest in Power.”

Kloots announced on Sunday night that Cordero had died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles after more than three months in the hospital battling coronavirus. During that time period, he had a leg amputated and spent weeks in a medically-induced coma, from which he never regained his ability to speak.

“God has another angel in heaven now. My darling husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth,” Kloots wrote on Instagram. “I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him. Nick was such a bright light. He was everyone’s friend, loved to listen, help and especially talk. He was an incredible actor and musician. He loved his family and loved being a father and husband. Elvis and I will miss him in everything we do, everyday. I will love you forever and always my sweet man.”

Braff was just one of the many celebrities who paid tribute to Cordero after his passing. Sarah Michelle Gellar shared the news on her own Instagram Sunday, telling Kloots, “Amanda, because of this horrible disease we can’t even hug you. But it’s important that you know, there is an army of people here, ready to support you in ANY and EVERY way possible.”

Gellar added, “I wish you understood the inspiration that you have been to so many, and I hope that brings you even the smallest bit of comfort through all this. But none of this is fair. ‘Death leaves a heartache no one can heal. Love leaves a memory no one can steal.’ #ripnickcordero.”