Amanda Kloots' Husband Died Of COVID-19 At Age 41. Here's How She's Staying Strong.
Women’s Health’s new series of WH LIVE+ events feature appearances from your favorite trainers, celebrities, and experts.
The next event, happening Oct. 6, will feature Amanda Kloots leading a full-body interval workout and a conversation with Women's Health's editor-in-chief Liz Plosser.
Amanda will share how she’s cultivated resilience and grit in 2020 since the passing of her husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero, of COVID-19.
If anyone knows how to just keep going amid trauma and tragedy, it’s Amanda Kloots. The fitness entrepreneur and actress relied on faith and fitness during her husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero’s, battle with COVID-19 and subsequent death at age 41.
Now, Amanda's sharing what she learned in a special WH Live+ event on Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT. She'll lead her new AK! TTMW full-body workout, which challenges the body and mind using two-minute intervals that will leave you sweat-soaked and happy by the end.
Afterward, she’ll talk about the power of positivity and how she’s cultivated resilience and grit in 2020 (all while growing her own online fitness business) with Women’s Health editor-in-chief Liz Plosser. Prepare for all the feels. This event is free and is powered by Athleta as part of a series that will also feature a workout and conversation with Denise and Katie Austin. You can register here for both events.
Here's a snapshot of what Amanda has endured in 2020—and how prioritizing her health helped her get through trying times:
Amanda’s husband, Nick Cordero, was hospitalized in March.
Amanda and doctors can't pinpoint exactly how he caught COVID-19. "It's almost impossible to know, unfortunately," she told the New York Times in an interview.
When he became sick in March, he was originally misdiagnosed with pneumonia, and Amanda dropped him off at the hospital on March 30. He was admitted to the ICU, and put on a ventilator April 1. Amanda wrote: "My whole world has stopped."
But, her workouts didn't. She shared on Instagram: "I let myself feel it, complain about it and then I pull my leggings on and start jumping, skipping, and smiling!"
He was eventually diagnosed with COVID-19.
After two negative novel coronavirus tests and a week in the ICU, a third test came back positive on April 6, per CTV News. Nick had no pre-existing health conditions, yet he experienced months of unpredictable symptoms as his body fought the virus.
Amanda encouraged everyone to dance and sing to Nick’s song “Live Your Life” while he was in a coma.
Amanda told the New York Times, “if anything's going to wake him up, it’s going to be the whole world singing his song.”
“I’m smiling and singing in his room everyday,” she wrote on Instagram. “I’m just not going to mope around and feel sad for myself or him. That is not what Nick would want me to do. That is not my personality. I fight and I will continue to fight for Nick every single day.”
Throughout it all, Amanda continued to rely on her regular workouts to help her stay in a positive frame of mind. “In times of trauma you want to curl up into a ball and hide, but my motto has always been to do the exact opposite. Exercise always make me feel better.”
She also turned to prayer. “I don't know how I would have gotten through without my faith and prayer,” she told the New York Times.
Nick died of COVID-19 complications after 95 days in the hospital.
Though her husband woke up from his medically induced coma in mid-May, he continued to struggle with severe complications as a result of the disease. “It just felt like he could never catch a break,” she told the New York Times.
Amanda shared the sad news on July 5: “God has another angel in heaven now. My darling husband passed away this morning. He was surrounded in love by his family, singing and praying as he gently left this earth.”
“I am in disbelief and hurting everywhere. My heart is broken as I cannot imagine our lives without him.”
Amanda started playing tennis to help with her grief.
The fitness instructor has been sharing how she's coping while mourning her husband's death, and also parenting their 1-year-old son as a single mom. She's relying on regular workouts—and a new hobby—to get her through the days.
“I just got home from my tennis lesson and I have to tell you, I am just loving it so much,” she shared on Instagram stories in August. “I love that I get to leave the house, move my body, sweat, focus and think about something completely new and different. It's really, really helping me.”
Learn more about Amanda's story by registering for her WH Live + event on Oct. 6 at 6 p.m. ET / 3 p.m. PT.
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