A heartfelt congratulations to Ricki Lake. The former talk show host and documentary filmmaker is newly engaged to boyfriend Ross Burningham, and shared the news in a statement to TODAY.
“Ross and I literally pinch ourselves that we have found each other at this time in our lives. Both of us, newly empty nesters, we feel as if we are kids again. We are filled with gratitude and joy for what is to come,” she said.
Lake, 52, also took to Instagram to share the news with her followers, posting a selfie of her and Burningham together, smiling at the camera.
“This is Ross,” the "Hairspray" star wrote. “He is my person. He is wonderful. I love him very much and I am so grateful I get to love and be loved so deeply by this stellar human. Our next chapter is sure to be a good one.”
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A frequent subject of Lake’s recent Instagram posts, Burningham is often pictured with her on the beach, with her dog and spending time outdoors in Southern California. Burningham’s debut on her Instagram was in December, and it is unclear exactly when the happy couple began seeing each other.
On Valentine's Day, "The Business of Being Born" producer posted a sweet selfie on the beach with her beau, captioning the happy pic simply with a heart emoji and the hashtag #HappyValentinesDay.
Lake posted about Burningham earlier this month for his birthday as well, saying he has brought her joy, peace and laughs. “I pinch myself, I am such a lucky girl,” she wrote. “Thank you for choosing me.”
It hasn’t always been so easy for Lake, who has endured tragedy and loss in her personal life.
A day after posting about Burningham’s birthday, Lake posted a tribute to her late ex-husband Christian Evans, who battled bipolar disorder and died by suicide in 2017. The pair were married from 2012 to 2015. Lake honored Evans in her post and said, “Christian Evans continues to be my greatest teacher…. forever grateful for the unconditional love we shared.”
Lake said losing Evans was “a tragedy I don’t think I’ll ever recover from,” when she was interviewed on "The Dan Wootton Interview" podcast in 2019, and also said speaking openly about Evans is important to her. “This is part of my story,” she said.
In her engagement announcement on Saturday, Lake mentioned her empty nest, referring to the two sons she has with her first husband Rob Sussman. They were married from 1994 to 2004.
Her sons, Milo Sebastian Sussman, 23, and Owen Tyler Sussman, 19, have also appeared on Lake’s Instagram, and she posted a picture with the pair of them in December, captioning it, “My sons. My joy. Grateful.”
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY.
