In 2022, the sudden death of Bob Saget made headlines around the world. As the public mourned a legend, his widow, Kelly Rizzo, was grieving her husband with the whole world watching. How do you mourn so publicly, release someone you love, and eventually find love again when you had lost all hope? In this …
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In 2022, the sudden death of Bob Saget made headlines around the world. As the public mourned a legend, his widow, Kelly Rizzo, was grieving her husband with the whole world watching. How do you mourn so publicly, release someone you love, and eventually find love again when you had lost all hope?
In this episode of Crying Out Loud, I sit down with Kelly Rizzo, food and travel creator, host of the podcast Comfort Food, and the woman who loved Bob Saget. She is warm, self-aware, and honest about the strange terrain of sudden loss, unexpected joy, and the guilt that seems to follow both.
Kelly met Bob the old-fashioned way; he slid into her DMs and fell for him slowly, then all at once. Their marriage was only three years old when he died suddenly in January 2022, after what she describes as the best show of his life. What followed was a grief that was both deeply private and relentlessly public, played out on morning shows with swollen eyes and in quiet moments alone in a kitchen that would never feel the same.
In this conversation, Kelly shares what it was like to navigate loss at a level of visibility most of us can’t imagine, how she learned everything she knows about grief from Bob himself, and why, four years later, she’s finally in therapy and newly, beautifully in love.
We also go deep together. I share my own experience of navigating a suicidal child after losing Sammy, and what it taught me about releasing control and trusting my own resilience. And together we talk about what grief does to the people around us, the surprising anchors and the unexpected boats, and why sometimes a hand emoji from John Mayer says everything.
In this episode, we explore:
What it’s like to grieve a partner in the public eye while the whole world is watching
The private love story behind Bob Saget and the man most people never saw
Why grief reshapes every relationship and who actually shows up when it matters
The guilt of feeling joy again and how to let yourself love without betrayal
What it really takes to release control after devastating loss
The small moments of connection that can carry you through the darkest time
How to navigate letting go of a shared life while still honoring it
The difference between holding on and staying connected
What it looks like to open your heart again after you thought you never could
How grief, when you move through it, can become a portal into resilience, love, and a more honest life
Kelly Rizzo is a force, not because she has it all figured out, but because she shows up honestly for herself and for others, even when it’s hard. You can find her on Instagram, and tune into her podcast Comfort Food wherever you listen. To join her warm and intimate community, check out Comfort Club.
As always, I’d love to hear from you. Share your story or send your questions to cryingoutloudpod@gmail.com. And make sure to pre-order my new book, Crying Out Loud, to be supported through loss and learn how to use your pain as a portal of transformation. Also, if you’re looking for a place to connect with people who truly understand, the Grief Healing Collective is there for you. None of us were meant to carry this alone. Let’s cry out loud together.
