How Amanda Kloots Has Honored Late Husband Nick Cordero Since His Death

Amanda Kloots has continued to honor late husband Nick Cordero after he died following a lengthy battle with COVID-19 in July 2020.

“A lot of people have said to me, ‘It gets easier [and] time helps,’ and I don’t know if I found that yet. I still pretty much cry every day. It’s growing pains," Kloots exclusively told Us Weekly in April 2021. “[I’m] doing everything I possibly can to stay healthy and active and happy. And you know, grief is a process … Everybody does it differently.”

Cordero, a Broadway veteran, is survived by wife Kloots and their son, Elvis.

Cordero had been admitted to the hospital in March 2020 after experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. His case had several complications, including a mini-stroke, blood clots and a leg amputation. He died on July 5, 2020, at the age of 41.

Keep scrolling to see all the different ways that Kloots has honored the late actor after his death:

While Cordero was lying unconscious in the hospital, the trainer yearned for him to wake up and open his eyes. To keep up her faith, she enlisted her Instagram community and friends for an hourlong “Wake Up Nick” dance party. Fans would dance along to his song “Live Your Life,” and share their best moves on Instagram with the hashtag #WakeUpNick.

The late musician started to write a song about his father’s death titled, “Not Far Away,” before his health crisis. While Cordero was unable to complete the lyrics prior to getting sick, Kloots finished the track and even sang her new words in tandem with a recording the Broadway vet had started. In an Instagram post from September 2020, the single mom explained, “The process of writing, singing and recording ‘Not Far Away’ has been incredibly therapeutic for me. Listening to it [sic] has made me feel closer to him, giving me a lot of comfort these last few days.”

The talk show host mentioned both on her Instagram and in her memoir, Live Your Life, that her late husband had rock star aspirations. After his death, Kloots released an album of songs from one of his last live performances. The concert recording landed at the top of the charts soon after debuting.

In December 2020, Kloots announced via Instagram that all of the proceeds from one of her upcoming AK! Body fitness classes would be donated to the Children’s Hospital in Los Angeles in both Cordero’s honor and name.

The former Rockettes performer worked with jewelry designer Stephanie Gottlieb to make a unique ring with some of her late husband’s ashes. The designer previously worked with Cordero to design Kloots' engagement ring. The former professional dancer explained via Instagram that Gottlieb included a sapphire gemstone (Cordero’s birthstone) in the center of the ring and engraved the inside with his initials (NC). In her caption, Kloots revealed her plans to pass this ring onto their son, Elvis.

After Cordero's death, the former Bullets Over Broadway dancer renovated the Laurel Canyon home she and Cordero had purchased before he got sick. In an Instagram post from February 2021, Kloots revealed she could feel her late husband’s presence in the house he helped pick out.

As of April 2021, Kloots expressed her desire to move from the Laurel Canyon property. According to Hello, the talk show host revealed her intentions in an Instagram Story. She wrote, “Our house is amazing but very small. Elvis and I can’t stay there forever because of that. It was never a home we bought as a 'forever home' but I will never sell it!” The Dirt reported that the single mom had purchased a new cottage in the same neighborhood.

Grief can be difficult, and Kloots has been vocal and vulnerable about all of her emotions since losing her partner. Eleven months after Cordero died, she shared a heartfelt and emotional letter on Instagram. 

She wrote: “Never did I think this would be my last month with Nick. We were all fighting so hard, including Nick. His journey seemed so long and on going while it was happening. Looking back I realize how quickly everything happened and how he held on until he knew everyone he loved would be ok. I miss you more and more everyday baby. We all do ❤️.”

Kloots’ memoir, titled Live Your Life: My Story of Loving and Losing Nick Cordero, came out in June 2021 to tell Cordero’s story and provide closure, she explained in an Instagram video. To celebrate the book launch, she organized a “book blessing” where more than 21,000 people virtually joined her and son Elvis at the last stage Cordero performed on at The Bourbon Room. Kloots even wore Cordero’s final costume, which was a giant angel. She wrote on Instagram, “Anna [Kloots, her sister] and I wrote this book so that Nick’s [sic] name would go down in history. Nick Cordero, thank you for being our angel.”

Kloots revealed in September 2021 that she is returning to the East Coast to see a tribute to her late husband. Cordero played Earl in the original Broadway cast of Waitress. The show was one of the first Broadway musicals to return amid the coronavirus pandemic.

"BROADWAY IS BACK with a 'big ol slice of Live Your Life pie!!!'" Kloots shared via Instagram. "Heading to NYC for a very special opening night that will honor Nick!! Thank you to the whole @waitressmusical cast and crew for this special invite and tribute to the original Earl. I’m pretty confident that I will cry through the entire show but I can’t wait to be there ❤️❤️❤️"

The Talk cohost marked the four-year anniversary of her wedding to Cordero by sharing a throwback snippet from their nuptials. "Hey baby! Happy 4th wedding anniversary to us! Our wedding was one of the best days of my life and I'll never ever forget it," she captioned her September 2021 Instagram post. "I'll never forget our first look, our first kiss as husband and wife and our first dance. You'll always be my husband, my angel now, but always the love of my life. Here's to us ❤️."

One day prior, she attended the premiere of her late husband's former Broadway show Waitress with close pal Zach Braff.

The Dancing With the Stars season 30 contestant shared a heartfelt tribute to her late spouse on what would have been his 43rd birthday in September 2021.

“Happy 43rd birthday to you Nick,” the Live Your Life author captioned a slideshow of images of the pair. “It’s really hard to not think about what we would be doing today to celebrate you. I’d probably take you for a really nice steak dinner and have some red velvet cake for dessert with Elvis! I hope you are up in heaven having a big party with your Dad and because I’m wishing the best for you, Prince. I’m hoping you’re singing with Prince today!!! Elvis and I will be missing you today as we sing to you from Earth. If you were here I know what you’d say… ‘I’m the luckiest man on the planet. I live a blessed life.’ I love you forever.”

Kloots got noticeably emotional as she prepared to dance to Cordero’s "Live Your Life" during a November 2021 episode of DWTS.

“Those packages are tough. I was sort of watching, sort of not watching. Alan [Bersten] and I always have a ritual that we say a prayer before we dance,” Kloots told Us and other reporters after the episode aired. “I kind of just [tried] to take in the moment, to be honest. I felt so grateful and lucky to be able to do this dance tonight to Nick's song. I mean, it truly was an honor.”

“This video of Nick and Elvis was taken exactly two years ago today,” the Talk cohost wrote via Instagram in January 2022. “It might be my favorite father/son moment I caught on camera. It used to make me too sad to watch, but now I watch it and smile.”

She continued in her post: “I think the most important lesson we learn in losing life is how to live life. …Maybe it’s a stage of grief I’m passing through, I don’t know, but I’m in a phase of throwing caution to the wind! Don’t wait till tomorrow. Say YES. Be a little bit wild, or a lot wild! Be bold, take chances, go on the trip, do all the things I want to try even when I don’t know what I’m doing. Smile. Take control of my life. Create the life I want to live!!! CREATE the life I want to LIVE.”

In March 2022, Kloots confirmed that the book she wrote in the wake of Cordero's death will be developed into a feature film. "How do you keep someone you've lost alive? You say their name, you tell their stories, you share their art and music!" she captioned an Instagram announcement, adding that she felt "very grateful" for the "opportunity to share this story in a new way."

"Happy Father’s Day to my dad and the best grandpa I know, to Nick who dreamed of being a father and is now our angel, and to my brother the best dad and uncle I know!" Kloots wrote via Instagram in June 2022, sharing throwback photos of Cordero with the couple's son, Elvis. 

"How I wish I could spoil you rotten today. Happy 44th Birthday Nick ❤️," Kloots captioned a slideshow for her late husband via Instagram in September 2022. She also donated all proceeds from her exercise class to Our House Grief Support Center in Cordero's name. 

“Three years ago today Nick passed away. Though he’s not with us anymore I feel, and I know other people that knew him feel, that his spirit lives on in the biggest way. He made such an impact on everyone he met, especially those he loved,” Kloots wrote via Instagram in July 2023. “I was reminded by a dear friend that three years really isn’t a lot of time. I need to allow myself grace. Why is that so hard, allowing grace into our life? But he was right. Is right. I miss Nick more than anything in the entire world.”

She added: “What I loved most is how he made me feel safe in his arms, and always loved. That’s a very special thing to gift to give someone. He was a special man with the biggest heart. I love you honey. Always.”

Kloots revealed via Instagram in March 2024, that she enlisted jeweler Stephanie Gottleib to transform her diamond engagement ring into a new heart-shaped sparkler.

“The healing process is an ongoing journey with my stepping stones along the way,” Kloots wrote in a social media message. “I waited awhile to do this one because I was so unsure about changing something so special. However, I didn’t want my ring to not be worn and it didn’t fit on another finger the way it was.”

Kloot’s new design is a “more casual” ring that she can wear every day.

While honoring the fifth anniversary of his death, Kloots shared footage of Cordero performing his track in 2019. Kloots reflected that the lyrics of his song have helped her navigate her grief since his death. “Nick left me with one of the greatest gifts — the title of his song: LIVE YOUR LIFE,” Kloots wrote via Instagram. “On hard grief days, I say to myself, ‘What would Nick want me to do?’ LIVE YOUR LIFE, AMANDA. When I’m making a decision — Should I take this trip? Should I speak my mind? Should I go for the dream?? The answer is always: LIVE YOUR LIFE. When I’m giving someone advice? LIVE YOUR LIFE. I didn’t realize what an impact his song would have on me after he was gone, but his words of wisdom have stayed with me, guided me, and helped me through grief.”