Amy Yasbeck says she still talks to late husband John Ritter every day: ‘I check in all the time’

Brian GalindoSat, November 14, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC

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Amy Yasbeck and John Ritter in New York, May 2003.Credit: Carmen Valdes/Ron Galella Collection via GettyKey Points -

Amy Yasbeck shares how she continues to feel connected to late husband John Ritter decades after his death.

Ritter died in 2003 after suffering an aortic dissection while on the set of his sitcom 8 Simple Rules. He was 54.

Weeks after his death, Yasbeck founded the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health to help raise awareness about the rare condition and to honor his memory.

For Amy Yasbeck, John Ritter’s sense of humor is never too far away.The actress, 64, who was married to the beloved Three’s Company star from 1999 until his sudden death in 2003, says their connection remains an everyday part of her life. In a recent interview with Page Six, Yasbeck revealed that she still makes a point of checking in with her late husband.“I still talk to John,” she shared. “I check in all the time. … I talk to him every day.”Yasbeck went on to explain that she remains close with Ritter’s children from his first marriage, Jason, Carly, and Tyler, and that they often bond over the kind of comedy they know he would have appreciated. Whether it’s discovering a new comedian or watching a particularly funny video, those shared moments bring the actor to mind, “John is with us or beside us when we’re watching something entertaining.”In fact, the Wings alum told PEOPLE in 2024 that the family loves to share those things in the group text, saying, “All we do is we send each other videos of physical comedy or people falling down, or having a bird poop on them, or something. We say, ‘John would’ve’ or ‘Dad would’ve loved this.’”

John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck at an event in Beverly Hills, May 2003.Credit: SGranitz/WireImage

Ritter’s ability to make people laugh was, of course, a defining part of his career. As Jack Tripper on ABC’s Three’s Company, which ran from 1977 to 1984, he became one of television’s most recognizable comedic performers. But for Yasbeck, his legacy extends well beyond his characters.When asked what she misses most about her husband, she pointed to something much closer to home: watching him raise his children.

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“Him as a father encompassed everything about him,” Yasbeck said, adding that she also missed his “humanity, his comedy, his empathy, his frustration at the world.”Yasbeck also remembered how strongly Ritter felt about the way children were treated, whether they were his own or someone else’s. In her recollection, his instinct to stand up for them was an essential part of who he was.The actor shared three children with his first wife, actress Nancy Morgan, whom he was married to from 1977 to 1996. He and Yasbeck welcomed their son, Noah, in 1998 before marrying the following year.

Amy Yasbeck, John Ritter, Jason Ritter, and Carly Ritter.Credit: Barry King/WireImage

Ritter died on Sept. 11, 2003 after suffering an aortic dissection while working on the set of his ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter. He was 54. His death prompted Yasbeck to establish the John Ritter Foundation for Aortic Health just weeks later, hoping to raise awareness about the potentially life-threatening condition.That awareness of the disease helped save the life of Ritter’s brother, Tom. Yasbek told PEOPLE that four years after Ritter’s death, his brother showed similar symptoms, saying, “Tom’s showed an aneurysm in the ascending portion, which is right where John’s was. So he had lifesaving surgery.”Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.The foundation still remains an important part of how Yasbeck honors her husband’s memory.Yasbeck also recently helped kick off the 50th anniversary celebration of Three’s Company, joining Ritter’s former costar Joyce DeWitt to cohost the launch of Three’s Company: Come and Knock on Our Door in New York on Nov. 2, as a benefit for the foundation. The anniversary tour features celebrity guests performing a live table read of the sitcom’s original pilot, honoring the landmark series.Though fans will always remember Ritter as the lovable and iconic Jack Tripper, Yasbeck’s memories offer a glimpse of the man behind all the laughs. And more than 20 years after his death, their daily conversations are a reminder that, for her, Ritter is still very much part of the picture.

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