How Amanda Kloots Honored Late Husband Nick Cordero On DWTS

Although Amanda Kloots was nervous about competing on the 30th season of "Dancing with the Stars," she decided to join the cast as a way to honor her late husband, Nick Cordero, who passed away in 2020 from Covid-19. "I think the best way to honor somebody's life is to keep living your life, and I know Nick would want me to do that," she told People. "And I feel like being back dancing — I haven't danced like this in seven years — so it's kind of like finding that part of myself again."

Kloots regularly posts tributes to Cordero on her social media pages. In addition, she wrote the memoir "Live Your Life: My Story of Loving and Losing Nick Cordero," and traveled to New York City for the reopening of the Broadway musical "Waitress," where Cordero originated the role of Earl in 2016 (via People). And when it comes to the grueling rehearsals for "DWTS," Kloots says she knows her husband is with her every step of the way. "So much has changed and I'm excited," she explained. "I'm excited to find that part of myself again and I know that in doing this, I'll feel him with me every single day. I already have started [to feel him with me again] in rehearsals. I'm having the best time ever."

Amanda Kloots continues to find ways to honor her late husband's memory. This time, she and her "Dancing with the Stars" partner, Alan Bersten, performed a foxtrot to her wedding song, "It Had to Be You." "This song is so special to me not only because it was our first dance but because of the lyrics and meaning behind it," she wrote on Instagram. "There is no relationship that is perfect. True love is the ups and downs, the differences, the pet peeves that drive us crazy — they end up being the things you can't live without! It HAD to be you because 'nobody else gave me a thrill, with all your faults I love you still.'"

Kloots is juggling competing on DWTS along with cohosting duties on "The Talk," but her priority, of course, is raising her and Cordero's two-year old son Elvis. "I think that's going to be my most difficult challenge is to find the time and the space. And then also the balance in my own life to try to find an hour to get a massage or to sleep. It'll definitely be that, especially if I'm lucky enough to keep going on in this competition," she told Parade.