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Radio personality Howard Stern recently that his COVID-19 paranoia has caused strife in his marriage.
During a segment on his Sirius XM radio show, Stern admitted to being “paranoid” and “neurotic” about the virus, contrasting his wife Beth Ostrosky Stern’s more relaxed attitude.
“I’m going crazy with this. My wife yelled at me last night,” he explained.
‘Neurotic, paranoid’ Howard Stern says his fear of COVID is causing fights with wife Beth Ostrosky https://t.co/FxHrXwjYDO pic.twitter.com/AtgXMhrhZ9
— New York Post (@nypost) September 7, 2023
“We got into a fight,” he said, referring to his unease about contracting COVID-19. “I really don’t want to get it.”
Stern says he’s “scared” anytime that his wife makes plans to socialize. “I’m just telling you, I’m scared. Am I wrong?” he said.
The tension in their relationship arose due to Stern’s heightened concerns about the new coronavirus strain, while his wife wanted to socialize despite media warnings about the virus.
“You know what I mean? I mean, I’m the lucky one who will completely fall apart,” he added.
This topic emerged when a caller asked Stern about returning to his studio amid rising COVID-19 warnings.
Stern acknowledged that the fear of falling ill had affected his relationship, saying,
Venting about others telling him to relax about the virus, Stern humorously predicted that he, as an older individual, would have a severe case if infected:
Highlighting the age difference between him (69 years old) and his wife (51 years old), Stern noted Beth’s fewer concerns about COVID-19 and her plans to attend events.
He mentioned that they had been active, going out to restaurants and even attending the Ed Sheeran concert without contracting the virus.
However, Stern expressed frustration when news of a new COVID-19 strain emerged, potentially leading to another lockdown.
Ultimately, Stern apologized to his wife and concluded by acknowledging his neurotic tendencies.
Co-host Robin Quivers humorously defined neurotic as someone who invents problems when there aren’t any, to which Stern agreed, saying, “Yeah. I make a ton of problems.”