Rita Wilson: Having Coronavirus at Same Time as Tom Hanks Made It ‘Easier’

Stronger together. Rita Wilson opened up about suffering from coronavirus in conjunction with husband Tom Hanks and how their joint illness helped them recover.

“I think that having the virus at the same time made it that little bit easier,” the singer, 63, told The Guardian in an interview published on Friday, April 17. “We were taking care of each other instead of having the pressure of taking care of one person and no one taking care of you or understanding that the person at home needs a break.”

Wilson further noted that the timing gave them more sympathy for each other. “We were fortunate we were in a place where we understood what the other was going through,” she explained.

Hanks, 63, announced on March 11 that he and the actress tested positive for COVID-19 while in Australia. “We felt a bit tired, like we had colds, and some body aches. Rita had some chills that came and went. Slight fevers too,” he wrote via Instagram at the time. “To play things right, as is needed in the world right now, we were tested for the Coronavirus, and were found to be positive.”

The You’ve Got Mail star elaborated on how the couple, who wed in April 1988, planned to keep themselves and others safe. “The Medical Officials have protocols that must be followed,” he continued. “We Hanks’ will be tested, observed, and isolated for as long as public health and safety requires. Not much more to it than a one-day-at-a-time approach, no? We’ll keep the world posted and updated. Take care of yourselves! Hanx!”

The duo recovered and returned to Los Angeles on March 27.

Earlier this month, Hanks hosted a stay-at-home edition of Saturday Night Live, during which he joked about his status since revealing he had the virus. “I have been the celebrity canary of the coal mine for the coronavirus, and ever since being diagnosed, I have been more like America’s dad than ever before since no one wants to be around me very long and I make people uncomfortable,” he quipped on Saturday, April 11.

In all seriousness, the Oscar winner reported that he and Wilson were “doing great” and “hunkered down, like all of us should be.”

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