Rachel Maddow made an emotional return to MSNBC airwaves Thursday night, revealing that she has spent the past two weeks caring for her partner, whose COVID-19 infection was so serious they thought it might kill her.
The 47-year-old anchor told viewers in a from-home broadcast that the COVID-19 exposure from a close contact that has prompted her absence since Nov. 6 was in fact her longtime partner, Susan Mikula, whom she described as the “center of my life.”
“At one point, we really thought it was a possibility it might kill her, and that’s why I’ve been away,” Maddow said.
Mikula, 62, tested positive two weeks ago. Maddow said that she herself tested negative that day, and the two immediately separated.
“She and I have both been alone since then,” she said, “while I tried to care for her while still staying apart from her.”
Maddow said her partner is beginning to recuperate and will be OK.
“We’re not scared anymore like we were,” she said.
She implored her viewers to consider the risks they’ve calculated for themselves and their loved ones and recalibrate them.
“There’s no room for you in the hospital anymore,” she said, urging viewers to prevent that outcome by ensuring they don’t get infected.
“Don’t get this thing. Do whatever you can to keep from getting it.”
Maddow said she has continued to test negative, and her quarantine ends soon, but she will continue to broadcast from home until it’s safe for her to be around her colleagues again.