Ricki Lake reflects on ex-husband's tragic suicide nearly 10 years later in emotional TV interview

Ricki Lake spoke about the loss of her ex-husband, Christian Evans, during an emotional appearance on Wednesday's episode of Watch What Happens Live.

The rare comment was made as Lake commended The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City star Mary Cosby for handling her son's tragic death at age 23 with 'such grace.'

Cosby's son, Robert Jr, passed away on February 23 after a battle with substance abuse.

Lake's former husband, to whom she was wed from 2012 to 2015 and who suffered from bipolar disorder, took his own life in February 2017.

'I am someone who is very accustomed to loss,' said Lake, who recently opened up about her plastic surgery procedure with before-and-after facelift photos.

On Watch What Happens Live, the poignant topic of loss came up when Cohen told Cosby she was 'a strong testament to what it means to have strong faith.'

'I want to be a testament to that because for me it's real,' Cosby replied. 'It gets me through everything. Even when I'm not prepared.'

Lake, who was sitting beside her and listening intently to the reality star's words, spoke up and looked Cosby straight in the eye.

'You’ve handled this with such grace,' she said, adding that Cosby was 'helping' and 'really doing a service' to other people who might be suffering from a similar loss.

'I lost my husband almost 10 years ago, as you know, Andy,' Lake went on. 'And having to rise in the public and just, you know, go through this, it's really a testament to you and your strength.

'And it's an honor to be here with you tonight,' she told Cosby.

Robert, Cosby's only son with husband Robert Sr, died three weeks after his release from prison.

Police initially responded to what was described as a 'possible overdose,' which later became a death investigation, per People.

An official cause of death has not been publicly released by the Utah medical examiner’s office.

When asked why she went back to work so soon after her personal tragedy, Cosby said: 'I didn't want to sit around and sulk. I didn't want to sit around and have it swallow me. So, I thought, be distracted, keep going, my son would want me to go and just push. And I did.'

Lake, meanwhile, still has the tattoo dedicated to her late ex-husband and jewelry designer that reads: 'I vow to continue loving you.'

She revealed the tattoo and explained its meaning during an appearance on Good Morning Britain in October 2022.

'My beloved husband passed away from suicide and bipolar five and a half years ago, so this was his wedding vow to me that I found on the stationery after he died,’ Lake said at the time.

'It's not only a message from him but it's a message for me to continue loving myself.

'That relationship and that loss was definitely the darkest period of my life.

'But through it so many gifts have come out of it, I'm now remarried and now I'm very much in the happiest place in my life.'

Opening up on Evans' illness, Lake continued, 'I didn't even know what bipolar was, when he first told me I didn't understand a manic episode or a psychotic break.

'It was the darkest time of my life. I have so much empathy for mental health - it's made me a better person.'

Lake has been married to Ross Burningham since January 2022.

The couple exchanged vows in the backyard of Lake's former Malibu home.

The former talk show host lost the dream home that she'd owned for over five years during the devastating Los Angeles wildfires in January of last year.

She and her new husband had planned to spend the rest of their lives there when they wed three years prior.

'It's all gone. I can't believe I am typing these words,' she wrote on Instagram after the fire raged through their hillside area.

'We never took our heavenly spot on the bluff overlooking our beloved malibu [sic] for granted, not even for one second. 

'This loss is immeasurable. It’s the spot where we got married 3 years ago.

'I grieve along with all of those suffering during this apocalyptic event,' she shared in her post.

A year later, she recalled how 2025 was 'so traumatizing, so harrowing… we did not know what we were going to do, and here we are,' she told People.

'We've made a life for ourselves here, I've created this home here, it feels very much like home.

'What surprises me the most is that we've landed on our feet the way we have. We still are pinching ourselves that we live here, that we ride the subway every single day.'

She added, 'And I'm still healing, but I'm so grateful. I'm so grateful. I choose to be happy. I choose to find the light in the darkness. I do think perspective is so much of it. I have so much to be grateful for this year.' 

If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org