Susan Lucci honored her late husband, Helmut Huber, during the in memoriam segment at the Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday.
Lucci appeared on stage at the Pasadena Convention Center to introduce the in memoriam segment honoring the actors, crew members and other daytime television stars who died this year. Before the segment began, the actor took a moment to talk about the death of her husband.
Huber died at age 84 in late March. The pair were wed for more than 50 years.
“I am so happy to be here with you tonight celebrating people that we love and have lost this year,” Lucci, 75, began. “I send my sympathy to my heart to the loved ones of those we pay tribute to tonight. My husband, Helmet Huber, was a larger than life force of nature. He was a confident caregiver who knew exactly how to make things happen and to keep us all laughing at the same time. Helmut loved and was so proud of our magnificent children and our grandchildren.”
Lucci said that Huber was the love of her life, before adding, "They say that grief is the price we pay for love. Well, grief is an excruciating price but I would not give up even one second of the love.”
The “All My Children” star and Huber first met at the Garden City Hotel in Long Island, New York, where he worked at the hotel while she was on summer vacation from college. The couple only dated for three weeks before he popped the question and they wed on September 13, 1969.
Huber was survived by Lucci, a brother, four children including his two children with Lucci, Liza and Andreas Huber, eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
While Lucci remained fairly silent on social media after the loss of her husband, on April 17, she shared a sweet photo on Instagram of the couple sharing a dance as they smiled at once another. In the caption, Lucci simply wrote, “The Love of My Life.”
The month after Huber’s death, Lucci also publicly thanked fans for their support in a sweet Instagram post. The actor shared a snap of an elaborate floral display, penning the touching message in the caption.
“You have deeply touched my heart—I thank each and every one of you for your outpouring of condolences for me—and beautiful, loving comments for Helmut,” she wrote.
Last month, Lucci shared a sentiment on grief similar to one she gave during her speech at the Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony. She posted a photo of a quote on her Instagram feed which read, “Grief never ends, but it changes. It is a passage, not a place to stay. Grief is not a weakness, nor a lack of faith: it is the price of love.”
"The pain of grief is excruciating—but I wouldn’t give up even one second of the LOVE," she wrote in the caption.
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