CNN’s Anderson Cooper Struggles to Hold Back Tears During Interview With Woman Who Lost 32-Year-Old Husband to Coronavirus

Anderson Cooper isn’t one to easily let his emotions get the better of him on the air. His presence on CNN is one of the more consistent aspects of their day-to-day broadcast, be it in the studio or remotely. But on Friday’s Anderson Cooper 360, the host’s emotions got the better of him during an interview with a woman who recently lost her husband to COVID-19.

Katie Coelho joined Cooper to talk about her late husband Jonathan Coelho and attempt to raise awareness on taking precautions against the disease. Coelho’s husband was only 32 years old when he died from the disease.

“My husband should not have died Wednesday morning,” she told the CNN host. “But he did.” Coelho added that her husband didn’t fall under and of the at-risk categories that have been referenced by the WHO and CDC since the pandemic started. The family also did all they could to limit exposure and interactions to keep away from the germs.

His job was likely the contributing factor in his death. Jonathan worked as a probation officer and was marked as an essential employee during the pandemic. Katie Coelho said that her husband was “feeling scared” and wanted to stay home from work. His position didn’t allow him the option.

March 25 is when Coelho tested positive, was admitted to the hospital the following day with symptoms of the disease, finally ended up intubated a few days later. He then passed away on April 22 after spending close to a month on a ventilator.

“I keep thinking…there is going to be a time where I have been without my husband longer than I have been with him. It hurts,” Coehlo said to Cooper during the interview.

To add to the pain, Katie was unable to make it to the hospital to be with her husband before his death. But he did write letters to his wife and their children, offering some sort of closure and final words.

“I love you guys with all my heart and you’ve given me the best life I could have ever asked for,” Johnathan Coehlo wrote in the note that was shared on the air with Cooper. Katie Coehlo also revealed that her children are too young to remember their father, likely meaning they’ll only learn about him through video and photos.

Cooper handled the interview extremely well and offered some words of comfort to the widow. He drew from his own experiences losing his father at the age of 50 and offered some touching words.

“The only thing I’m going to tell you is they will know him through you and the love you have for him, they will feel like they know him because I know you will tell stories about him as they grow up and for the rest of their lives,” Cooper told her while fighting his emotions.

Katie Coehlo and her children, 2-year-old Braedyn and 10-month-old Penelope, are both self-isolating due to their positive tests for the virus. The U.S. has tested over 5 million people or a little over 1% of the population. The total number of cases is nearing 1 million, with over 50,000 deaths.