'NCIS' Stars Rally Around Pauley Perrette As She Grieves Huge Loss

The actress and activist spoke about how much the loss has personally impacted her.

Pauley Perrette has always been quite open about personal struggles, and she took to social media on March 18 to share a poignant message about a deep personal loss.

The NCIS actress posted a video on Instagram, in which she scrolled through photos of herself and her cousin, a man named Wayne, who passed away on the same day last year.

She said, "Everyone has their human, their person…for me, it was my cousin, Wayne. He was everything to me. He was like my brother, we were like twins."

The 53-year-old recounted how Wayne would come to visit her in Hollywood and tell her personal stories about his work as a firefighter and EMT.

Perrette went on, "We would shoot the s--t and drink beer and shots of moonshine that he would bootleg out here, cross-country in his golf bag."

She finished the video by saying, "Wayne's dead. March 18, 2022. It's been one year. And I still don't know who I am without him."

Following the emotional upload, Perrette's former NCIS co-stars took to the comments to send their support.

Lauren Holly, who played Jenny Shepard on NCIS, wrote, "Love u P. I know. 💔❤️," while Brian Dietzen, who stars in the series as Dr. Jimmy Palmer, also left a note for Perrette, writing, "Love you P. ❤️."

Many of the actress' friends and fans also shared kind words in the comments, whether they knew Wayne personally or not.

"You are a beautiful human and my heart bleeds for you. The worst part of getting older is the people we lose along the way," wrote one fan.

Some also opened up about their experiences losing someone very close to them, as they shared condolences for Perrette's loss and her grief.