Katie Couric Reflects on the 'Milestones with Our Daughters' Her Late Husband Jay Missed After Death from Cancer (Exclusive)

Kimberlee Speakman, Raven BrunnerFri, May 1, 2026 at 2:07 PM UTC

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A photo of Katie Couric and her two daughters.Credit: Katie Couric/Instagram -

Katie Couric opened up about the "milestones" her late husband Jay Monahan missed in their daughters lives after his death at the age of 42 in 1998 due to colon cancer

The journalist, who is a breast cancer survivor, also shared why she believed that cancer screenings were important and how she plans to continue advocating for them

Couric took part in the Runway for Recovery fundraiser on Thursday, April 30, which raises money to support families impacted by metastatic breast cancer

Katie Couric knows just how important family moments are.

The journalist and presenter, 69, opened up in an interview while promoting the latest Runway for Recovery fundraiser about why she believed it was important to bring awareness to the importance of cancer screenings — especially after a cancer death touched her own family.

“It's an indescribable feeling to know that something you said and did impacted someone so they could do something and that they're gonna be around for their families,” Couric tells PEOPLE.

Couric understands this well, as her first husband, Jay Monahan, died of colon cancer at the age of 42 in 1998, leaving her two daughters without a father at a young age.

A photo of Katie Couric, Jay Monahan and their two daughters.Credit: Katie Couric/Instagram

“You know, my husband missed so many milestones with our daughters,” she explains. “They were just 6 and 2 when Jay died, so he missed so much. He missed watching them grow into these incredible young women.”

She continues, “He missed proms and parent-teacher conferences and college acceptances and graduations and weddings — at least Ellie, not Carrie yet — and the birth of, of a grandson, now Jay, who is 2, named after [him].”

Katie Couric and her daughters Ellie and Caroline at the Taylor Swift Eras Tour.Credit: Katie Couric/Instagram

The Going There author noted that it was important for her to advocate cancer awareness in order to prevent other families from having to experience the same heartbreak that her family went through.

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“To think that some of these families aren't gonna miss those moments and are going to be intact and are gonna be able to love and support each other, I mean, that's such a gift and Jay wasn't able to…” she says.

“But the fact that I did something that made it possible for them versus the alternative, as they say in the MasterCard commercial, that's priceless,” she adds.

Couric, who is herself a breast cancer survivor, has partnered with Runway for Recovery in order to raise money for women and families impacted by metastatic breast cancer. She will join more than 85 women, men and children onstage at the Runway for Recovery fashion show — which has raised more than $11.3 million to help families — in order to honor those affected by the disease.

Runway for Recovery’s founder and CEO Olivia Boger said that having the former TV host share her own story with cancer and take part in their efforts helps others know “they’re not alone.”

John Molner and Katie Couric attend The Robin Hood Foundation's 2018 benefit in New York City.Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty

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“I think for the women backstage, they look at their own experience with breast cancer and they wonder if it's just them, and to see that there's somebody who they've seen their face their whole lives and we all know Katie because of all the time she spent out in the public eye,” Boger said.

“I think it makes a huge difference for them to know that they're not alone and that their story could have threads that connect to hers, and so it's incredibly meaningful,” she continued. “I guess I do have words to describe it, but it's still not adequate. I know that she gets asked by so many organizations and for her to say yes… [it’s] life-changing for us.”

on People

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”