Ryan Seacrest breaks down in tears as he reveals heartbreaking news about his family. What’s going on with his family?
Ryan Seacrest Shares Emotional Update: Father Gary Battling Prostate Cancer
Los Angeles — Ryan Seacrest grew tearful on his radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest as he revealed that his father, Gary Seacrest, has been fighting prostate cancer for years. He said the illness worsened recently and was compounded by pneumonia during chemotherapy, which led to an ICU stay and months of full-time care.
Seacrest recounted receiving an urgent call about his dad’s condition while he was live on American Idol, finishing the episode before flying to Atlanta to be with his family. He praised the nurses who helped his father through a period when even basic tasks were difficult. Gary has since recovered from pneumonia and is home, though further treatment lies ahead.
With Gary’s 81st birthday approaching, Seacrest asked what he wanted. The answer, he said, was simple and aching: to get out of the chair and leave the house—a sign of how long recovery can feel.
The update prompted a wave of public support from colleagues and fans. Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos offered encouragement on Live with Kelly and Mark, and entertainment outlets amplified Seacrest’s message about the harsh realities of cancer—and the resilience families find together.
In moments like this, many people reach for prayer, presence, and patience—the quiet helps that actually help. As a wisdom teacher might put it: do the good you can right in front of you, speak gently, and entrust the rest to God. For caregivers and the sick, small mercies—time at a beach, a walk outside, a steady hand—become victories worth celebrating.
Ryan Seacrest is getting candid.
Seacrest, 50, got emotional and teared up during a July 21 broadcast of “On Air With Ryan Seacrest,” while talking about his father, Gary Seacrest, 80, who is battling prostate cancer.
During the radio program, the “American Idol” host confessed that he’s “never really spoken about this.”
The “Wheel of Fortune” host had previously talked about his father’s health, but hadn’t shared many details or personal feelings about it until now.
In a 2021 Instagram post, he said that Gary had been “battling cancer for several years.”
At the time, they thought it was “no longer detectable,” but on Monday’s episode he tearfully admitted that his father’s cancer “got worse and it spread.”
The former “Live with Kelly and Ryan” co-host said that when this happens to a loved one, it’s “a hard thing to see, because the treatments that are commonly recommended can be barbaric to the system. They can cause so much damage to your body in other ways.”
Gary also got pneumonia while undergoing chemotherapy, Ryan said.
During “American Idol” last season, he said that his sister, Meredith, called him to say, “Dad is in the ICU,” and “How fast can you get here?”
After he finished “American Idol,” he recalled flying to Atlanta to go to the hospital.
“The night that I got there, the conversation they were having with [my father] about an emergency surgery was a life or death conversation, and I’ve never seen my strong, very smart father with the look on his face that he had — and the concern, and looking at me to help guide what decisions should be made in this moment,” Ryan said.
Gary decided not to have surgery, but Ryan stuck around at the time and broadcast “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” from his Atlanta hotel.
“When you see a parent suffering and when you see them going through this and you don’t understand it yourself, you’re just listening to all the different doctors and trying to make sense of what they’re trying to suggest and do,” he said.
The “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest” host said about his father: “He could not get up to sit. He could not eat. He could not drink water. He could not go to the bathroom. Weeks go by in ICU and finally he began to get some strength back.”
Ryan’s mother, Connie, is also in remission after a cancer battle, which made him want to help out more, he added.
“I needed her to take a break,” Seacrest said. “When you’re a kid, no one tells you how to handle this with your parents.”
He added that his parents have been married “for over 55 years. They’ve got each other and the pneumonia is gone, but his cancer is not.”
