Luke Perry’s ‘Riverdale’ Co-Star Molly Ringwald Thought His Stroke Was Only ‘Temporary’

Riverdale star Molly Ringwald opened up about the death of her co-star Luke Perry, almost two months after the beloved Beverly Hills, 90210 star’s death.

In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal Wednesday, the Breakfast Club star said she did not expect him to die so soon.

“I expect him to just be there,” Ringwald said. “We thought it was going to be a temporary thing. He was so beloved by everyone.”

Although Perry and Ringwald did not work together until Riverdale, Ringwald shared a story about Perry from 20 years ago. She believes Perry adopted a potbellied pig she owned in her 20s. She had to put the pig up for adoption when she moved to France.

“It was supposed to stay really little, and it didn’t,” Ringwald said, notes PEOPLE. “So apparently, he took the pig… He’s somebody that you felt like you knew him whether you did or not. He had that very warm, wide-open way about him.”

Perry suffered a stroke on Feb. 27 and never regained consciousness. He died on March 3, surrounded by close friends and family. He was 52, and his ashes were reportedly spread in Dickson, Tennessee. Perry owned a farm in the state since 1995.

Perry and Ringwald played Fred and Mary Andrews, the estranged parents of Archie Andrews, on Riverdale.

The final episode featuring Perry aired last week, and it is not clear how the show will move forward without him in the long term. K.J. Apa, who plays Archie, hinted that Mary may play the mentor role for Archie.

“We’re definitely gonna obviously have to address it at some point,” Apa told Entertainment Tonight. “Whether that’s Molly stepping in as more of an active parent for Archie — again, that depends on the availability of the actors around us. So we’ll do what we can.”

Mark Consuelos, who plays Veronica Lodge’s father Hiram on Riverdale, told Esquire he quickly learned to appreciate Perry’s outlook on life, even though they only knew each other briefly.

“One thing about Luke that always struck me was the way he talked about his life. He had so many good stories, and he saw them as chapters in his life,” Consuelos told Esquire late last month. “He recalled them with such fondness, even if it was a s—y time. He always found the wit and humor in these crazy situations. He always found the beauty in it.”

Consuelos added that every story about Perry his colleagues, friends and family have shared since his death are true.

“He was an amazingly generous, kind person. You can’t fake that,” he said. “He was one of the good ones.”

New episodes of Riverdale air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on The CW.

Photo credit: The CW