Amanda Kloots' Husband Nick Cordero Died Nearly 5 Years Ago. Now She's Doing Something Surprising with His Ashes (Exclusive)

Amanda Kloots has decided to create "something beautiful" with the ashes of her late husband, Nick Cordero.

Nearly five years after Cordero died in July 2020 at age 41, Kloots is teaming up with Eterneva to honor him in a way that feels "really special and really unique" — as she begins her 10-month journey of transforming his ashes into a one-of-a-kind diamond ring, which she'll keep on her finger "every day."

"It's an odd experience to see your loved one as ash, but I think what's so beautiful about Eterneva is that I don't often go and look at those ashes," the former Talk cohost, 42, tells PEOPLE of her decision to honor Cordero, with whom she shares 5-year-old son Elvis. "They're in a little special place in my closet. And I know that I'll look every day at this ring."

"And so I think it's really special because the ashes for me are hard to look at and they are hard to go back to, but a piece of jewelry like this is so beautiful and such a beautiful way to look at your person."

Related: Amanda Kloots Says She's Been 'Changed for Good' as She Poses with Son Elvis, 5, and Kristin Chenoweth

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

The decision to create the ring for Cordero — who died due to COVID-19 complications — was a recent move for Kloots. As she recalls, her manager put her in touch with Eterneva, which is known for transforming ash and hair into diamonds in a process that allows loved ones to participate and honor people and pets.

After sending over some of Cordero's ashes in a canister, Kloots now gets to be involved as the company transforms them into carbon — eventually creating the diamonds and returning the ring home to her. Kloots even got to decide on her own color, cut and the type of jewelry as a nod to his legacy, too.

As she tells PEOPLE, "Any time that we can make that healing journey easier or memorialize it, is such a nice thing."

"I originally was just thinking about just a clear diamond, and then I was like, 'Well, wait a second.' I was like, 'Maybe I do something a little bit more unique and make it a black diamond,' because Nick loved to wear black, especially when he was on stage being a rock star with his music," Kloots says of her late husband.

Related: Amanda Kloots Says She Received Late Husband's 'Blessing' to Date and He's Told Her a New Love Is 'Coming' (Exclusive)

Ultimately, Kloots decided on a rectangular shape so it would stand out from her other rings and also serve as a nod to Cordero's height: 6'5". Collecting his ashes for the new piece of jewelry was "not easy," she adds, just as she recognizes that the decisions people make about their loved one's ashes never are.

The television personality has previously distributed Cordero's ashes in New York City, Los Angeles, in the Pacific Ocean (where his father's ashes were spread) and has made vases and other jewelry items out of them, too. The day she first picked up his ashes was one of the "hardest days of my life," she adds.

"They're just in the plastic box that they came in. And even though I've put them in a beautiful urn and done all the things that I have done, there's still so many that are just in that same plastic box I picked up that day," she says. "I think Eterneva and I came together at the exact right time for me because it will be five years in July that Nick has been gone, which is crazy. And I think that it was perfect timing for me to do something like this, to take part of his ashes and make something beautiful out of them."

"... I want them to [have] a purpose. I love the vases that I made out of his ashes. I keep flowers in them every day and I just feel like it helps him keep living in an odd way."

While Kloots hasn't yet reached the final stages of her ring-making process with the company, she says that she knows Cordero "would really like" the sentiment. "He loved cool jewelry. He often wore a lot of rings and necklaces, and I think he would really like this, that his ashes were repurposed into something that I could have with me every day," she says. "So again, it's a personal choice and I don't take it lightly, but I do think that when we can take something and make something beautiful out of a sad memory or sadness is such a wonderful opportunity."

As for her decision to remain so open about her grieving process five years later, she emphasized the importance of sharing with her "community" — given "how awful it can be when you keep things in."

"It doesn't end. So I think you have to let people in on that because it's a journey," she says. "And I think the more we can be candid about how hard that journey is, the better."

Read the original article on People