Steve Wilkos met with Jerry Springer for the last time earlier this year. Although Wilkos had no idea it would be the final time the two friends would be together, Wilkos said it felt like the talk show legend was “saying goodbye” to him in those moments. Springer died on Thursday after a private battle with pancreatic cancer at 79.
After news broke about Springer’s death, Wilkos told Access Hollywood he last saw his mentor “a little over a month ago.” He finished taping a new episode of The Steve Wilkos Show when he received a text from Springer, telling him he would love to see him while he was visiting New York City. Wilkos was tired after a long day’s work but still made time to meet with Springer.
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At first, he didn’t think there was anything unusual about the meeting. Whenever the two friends met, they traded updates about their families and favorite baseball teams. Things were different this time though. Instead, they discussed the past and their glory days together on Jerry Springer.
“We reflected a lot and we shared a lot of old stories and he embraced me in a way that he’d never really embraced me,” Wilkos told Access Hollywood. “He gave me a hug and was telling me he loved me. I think he knew he was sick. I didn’t even know he was sick until this morning because he looked the same to me. “I knew there was something off, but I certainly didn’t know he had a terminal illness, or whatever he had. I think this was his way of saying goodbye to me.”
Wilkos also spoke to TMZ about that final meeting, noting that Springer might have “been saying goodbye to me.” Springer “hugged me like he never hugged me before,” Wilkos said. He went on to credit Springer with his career and his family. After all, he is now married to Rachelle Consiglio, who was an executive producer on Jerry Springer before she moved to Wilkos’ show. Wilkos added that he thought Springer would outlive him.
“Other than my father, Jerry was the most influential man in my life. Everything I have today, I owe to Jerry,” Wilkos, 59, said in a statement Thursday. “He was the smartest, most generous, kindest person I’ve ever known. My wife [Rachelle Wilkos] and I are devastated. We will miss him terribly.”
Wilkos was a Chicago police officer when he was hired to work security on Jerry Springer. In 2007, he left the series to host his own show, The Steve Wilkos Show, which is still in production. Jerry Springer continued airing until 2018, but Springer wasn’t done with television yet. He starred in his own court series, Judge Jerry, from 2019 to 2022.
