Two months after leaving the Today Show, the lovely Meredith Vieira dishes on her new home life–the lifestyle her hubby Richard Cohen wasn’t so sure she’d be able to handle in the beginning!
He teased, " ‘Now you’re going to see what it’s like to be home with a crazy dog that barks all the time, things breaking here and there, and there’s always a workman doing something,’ " Vieira, 57, admitted to Good Housekeeping magazine in its September issue, on newsstands Aug. 16. "He said, ‘You’re going to be a part of the rhythm of my life.’ "
"There’s a dance to relationships, and we had been doing a little bit of the dancing side by side, but not together. Now, we’re back together, and we’ve got to figure out the rhythm of that dance," Vieira mused.
The former TV personality left her successful NBC career with the intention of spending more time with her husband–who has secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis–and family. But she doesn’t want people to think it’s because his health is heading downhill quickly.
"Family and health factored into my decision, but it’s not like Richard is … taking some turn for the worst," Meredith explained about Richard, who has also battled and won two bouts with colon cancer. "I was more leaving because he’s healthy. So why not while we are able to enjoy life?"
She continued: "Every year, it’s a little bit worse. On the other hand, he’s doing great compared to a lot of people. And he’s certainly self-sufficient. I mean, the idea that I’m nursing him is ridiculous."
In addition, she wanted to enjoy the "the last summer for a while". Two of her children were about to graduate from high school (Lily, 18) and college (Ben, 22), and she knew there woulnd’t be many more opportunities for all of her babies, including Gabe, 19, to be home at the same time.
Making her final decision to leave was difficult, but Vieira is a smart woman with instincts only a mother can have. "I knew for a while that I was leaning [toward leaving]. My gut was telling me that it was time to go."
