Wheel of Fortune’s Ryan Seacrest gets emotional while discussing dad’s cancer

Ryan Seacrest broke down in tears on his show On Air with Ryan Seacrest while discussing his father’s battle with prostate cancer

Ryan Seacrest got emotional when discussing his father Gary’s cancer journey during his radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest.

The 50-year-old showed a more vulnerable side during the show, holding back tears as he shared details of his father’s battle with prostate cancer. Ryan’s father, who turns 81 on July 27, was diagnosed with cancer years ago, according to a 2021 Instagram post by the television personality, though at the time it was undetectable.

Unfortunately, the cancer “got worse and it spread,” leaving his father, whom he describes as “strong” and “very smart,” practically immobile for almost five months.

Ryan recalled being live on the air while hosting American Idol when his sister Meredith called with the news that his father was in the ICU with pneumonia. “Dad is in the ICU, and how fast can you get here?” he remembered his sister saying.

The shock of the situation left him in a daze, though he finished the taping, admitting, “I didn’t even remember what I was saying,” before hopping on a plane to Atlanta to see his father.

Ryan, admitting he’s “never really spoken about this,” remembers visiting his father in the hospital every day and even broadcasting his radio show from his hotel room in Atlanta.

“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. I didn’t want to miss trying to understand who these people were that were taking care of my father.”

His father was unable to move and remained mostly immobile for almost five months before being released from the hospital. Ryan says he visits every weekend.

“His birthday is in a few days, and I asked him, ‘What would you like for your birthday?’” to which Gary answered,”‘I just want to get out of this chair. I just want to leave this house.’”