Nancy Reagan’s children speak out on her death
Nancy Reagan reaches out to Ron Reagan as Patti Davis looks on during the funeral for former President Ronald Reagan in 2004. (Photo: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
As the world continues to mourn the death of Nancy Reagan, the former first lady’s children spoke publicly about the loss of their mother for the first time on Monday.
In an interview with Matt Lauer on “Today,” Ron Reagan remembered the inseparable bond his parents had.
“Nancy Reagan was a woman who was totally dedicated to her husband, and I know that that sounds anti-feminist, but I don’t really mean it in that way,” Ron said. “She loved her husband more than anything in the world, and I think that you could make the case that the Ronald Reagan that we all came to know as president would not have existed without Nancy Reagan.”
Nancy Reagan died Sunday at her home in Los Angeles from congestive heart failure, her office said. She was 94.
“I mean, it sounds cliché — I don’t think they ever spent a day apart where they didn’t call, speak on the phone,” Ron continued. “He wrote her letters all her life, all his life. They were in love, and they stayed in love for 52 some-odd years.”
The former first son said life for the former first lady wasn’t easy in Washington.
“I think that it was tough for her in the White House, because there was a lot of anger that could have been directed at my father,” said the 57-year-old, who now serves as a political commentator for MSNBC. “My mother was more aware of, I think, the dark corners of life.”
Slideshow: Saying goodbye to Nancy Reagan >>>
Ron also recalled how the 1981 assassination attempt on President Reagan affected his mother.
“I don’t think that she ever had another day during his presidency where there wasn’t some sort of fear involved and particularly, of course, when he went out in public,” he said.
His older sister, Patti Davis, released a statement on her website saying her mother “died peacefully in her sleep.”
“It was how she wanted to go,” she wrote. “Fifteen minutes later I was in my car driving to her house and people began calling me, expressing their condolences, which was strange because I knew we hadn’t put out an official statement yet. Somehow, TMZ had gotten the news and had sent it out — none of us know how and we probably never will. It comes with the reality of living and dying in the public eye. It’s a strange dance, but one I’m familiar with.”
Davis continued:
My mother had been in poor health for quite a while, and recently had gotten markedly worse, so this wasn’t a surprise. That said, death always feels like a surprise. I appreciate the attention and prayers of people I will probably never meet. Just as when my father died, there is comfort in feeling surrounded by gentle thoughts and kind wishes, often sent out by strangers. And just as when my father died, we will honor my mother publicly — stand on the public stage and share as much as we can. Then, when that is completed, we’ll draw the circle in a little tighter and deal with the often complicated map of personal loss.
She added: “I wish I could thank individually everyone who has sent out messages on social media. I can’t, so I’m hoping they will read this and know how grateful I am.”
