The 'Full House' star's wife is opening up about the comedian's life and legacy.
Kelly Rizzo is opening up about the last time she spoke to her husband, Bob Saget. The comedian died on Jan. 9 in Orlando, Florida. He was 65.
"I'm just very grateful that it was all, 'I love you so much,'" Rizzo told Hoda Kotb on the Today show in one of her first TV interviews since Saget's death. "I think I said, 'I love you dearly,' and he said, 'I love you endlessly,' and he said, 'I can't wait to see you tomorrow.' It was just all love."
Openly discussing their love was something the couple was accustomed to doing, and something Saget made sure to do with everyone in his life that he cared about.
"He told everyone that he loved -- and I mean quite frankly anyone he met and even spent any time at all -- he told them he loved them endlessly and tirelessly. That was his entire message," Rizzo said. "If you knew Bob and he loved you, you knew it. There was never, ever a doubt in your mind."
Rizzo and Saget met via social media in 2015, got engaged two years later, and went on to tie the knot in October 2018.
"We were inseparable from our very first date," she said. "Pretty much we knew that that was it. We knew that it was something different and unique."
Rizzo tearfully told the Today show that when Saget was on the road, like he was at the time of his death, he always tried to make it home to her as quickly as possible.
"He loved to sleep in, but when he was away, he would... go to bed at two and wake up at four, so he could be on the 6 a.m. flight, so he could come home and we could spend time together," she said through tears. "That's why this is so heartbreaking. But, at the same time, I know that second that we had together was just maximized to the fullest. There was nothing left unsaid and nothing left on the table. Those are things that I'm just trying to hold on to."
Rizzo is also finding comfort in the fact that Saget was "very happy" at the time of his death.
"He was just thrilled to be back out on the road," she said. "He was also very sensitive, and just all the weight of everything going on in the world right now, it was just weighing very heavily on him. That's why he felt more compelled than ever to make people laugh and bring people together. And he did it up until the very last moment."
Comedy was just one of Saget's life achievements, according to Rizzo. He was also very proud of his three adult daughters and worked hard to raise money for scleroderma research, after his sister, Gay, died, of the rare disease.
"They were his entire life. They were his absolute life's work and his passion. He loved them. I know they are my step-daughters, but we're all very, very close, I just love them and will be there for them always," Rizzo said of Saget's daughters, before discussing his charitable efforts.
"He spent over 30 years tirelessly working so hard to try to find a cure for the disease," she said. "That's why anything I can do to help keep that legacy going and help with the SRF, because it meant so much to him."
Saget was laid to rest on Jan. 14. TMZ reported that at least 300 people were on hand for the service.
"At his memorial, there were a lot of people there and every single person was pretty much like, 'Oh, I talked to Bob last week,'" Saget said. "I'm like, 'How did he have the time to talk to everybody and tell everybody that he loved them all the time?' It was just amazing."
Of the service, Rizzo added, "I did speak. The whole thing, as painful as it was, [it was] beautiful to be surrounded by so many people who loved him and who loved each other. I can't even verbalize the level of support. I'm so grateful for it."
The immense love Rizzo has received in the wake of Saget's death has been "the one silver lining" of the tragedy, she said. It also speaks to the kind of person her husband was.
"The incredible outpouring of love and support, not only from just everybody that loves Bob, but also for me and just from his friends and family... I don't know how else I would be getting through this right now," she said. "... He tried to make everybody feel special and happy and comfortable."
"His constant message was just treat everybody with kindness because he had gone through so much in his life and he knew how hard life could be," she continued. "He always was just so kind and loving to everybody. He was just the best man I had ever known in my life. He was so kind and wonderful. Everybody that was in his life knew it. Even anybody that would just causally meet him was like, 'Wow, this is a special guy'... He felt like he was everyone's dear friend. Nobody will ever be like Bob."
As for how she's doing now, Rizzo said, "There's a little bit more of a sense of calm. I think you get to a point where your body will just physically not let you cry anymore or at least all day. Still every second is horrible. But you start to come to terms with it a little bit."
Even amid her grief, Rizzo is working to be there for all the people that knew and loved Saget, including his Full House co-star, John Stamos.
"John Stamos, they were best friends for 35 years," Rizzo said. "I'm just trying to make sure that they are OK, because I'm like, 'I've only known him barely six years. You guys have known him for 20, 30, 40 years.'"
Following Saget's death, Rizzo released a statement to ET saying she was "shattered" and 'in disbelief."
"My whole heart. Bob was my absolute everything," read her statement. "I am so completely shattered and in disbelief. I am so deeply touched by the outpouring of love and tribute from our friends, family, his fans and his peers."
She also penned a lengthy tribute to her late husband shortly after his death.
"My sweet husband. After much reflection this week, I’m trying, really trying, to not think I was robbed of time. But instead to think: How lucky was I that I got to be the one to be married to THE MOST INCREDIBLE MAN ON EARTH," she wrote in part. "I was the one who got to go on this crazy ride with him and be in his life these last 6 years. We had that time to make each other the happiest we’d ever been and change each other’s lives forever."
"I got to be the one to love him and cherish him. He deserves all the love. Every ounce of it. Because that’s how amazing Bob was," Rizzo continued. "He was love. If you were in his life you KNEW he loved you. He never missed an opportunity to tell you."
According to an incident report released by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, hotel staff at the Ritz Carlton in Orlando, Florida, found Saget on the bed with his hand on his chest. The report states Saget was lying in a supine position, indicating a possible heart attack. While an immediate cause of death could not be reported, the medical examiner found "no evidence of drug use or foul play."
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