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Meredith Vieira Is Staying Positive Throughout Her Husband’s Heath Battles — “Every Day Is Great!”

In an interview with Closer Weekly, Meredith Vieira talks about why she chooses to stay positive through the many health challenges she faces with her husband, Richard Cohen.

The former The View co-host, 63, has been a constant source of support for her husband since they met in 1982, nine years after he was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “One of the hardest things for me to learn was to let people help — to let them in,” Meredith admits to Closer, adding that when you have an illness in your family “you can feel isolated.”

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Meredith and Richard in 2014.

“It’s wonderful when someone reaches out and says, ‘We’re here for you,’” she tells Closer. “We all need each other.”

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“I see life very much not in a pessimistic or fatalistic way,” she says, “but more of a live-in-the-moment way. It’s really about just appreciating where you are and valuing it. And in that way, every day is great!”

Richard “is doing great,” Meredith says. “We knock wood every day that we’re doing well and then we fight the good fight!”

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Meredith in May 2017.

The duo relies on their senses of humor to cope during the tough times. “Richard’s a funny, sarcastic guy. We certainly take illness seriously, but we try not to take ourselves too seriously,” Meredith says. “If you can have a lightness to your step, it helps a lot.”

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Meredith tells Closer that despite her busy life, family has always been her top priority. “Every decision I’ve made revolves around them, so it makes it easier to sleep better at night. That,” she adds with a laugh, “and a glass of wine!”

For the full interview with Meredith, pick up the latest issue of Closer Weekly, on newsstands now!

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Click through the gallery below to see The View hosts through the years!