Melissa Rivers marries attorney Steve Mitchel after pair lost home in LA fires
Melissa Rivers marries attorney Steve Mitchel after pair lost home in LA fires
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Melissa Rivers is a wed woman.
The television host and daughter to late comedian Joan Rivers tied the knot in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, over the weekend, marrying attorney Steve Mitchel.
After the pair lost their home in the wildfires that devastated Los Angeles at the start of the year, the ceremony was almost canceled, Rivers revealed to People magazine.
"I was tapping out, like 'I just can't do this,'" Rivers, 57, told the outlet. "That's when my friends stepped in and said, 'We are doing this.' Because a number of people who are coming lost their homes too, and they were like, 'Thank God we have this to look forward to.'"
Along with many Southern Californians, Rivers and Mitchel were forced to abruptly evacuate their home in January after warnings about the raging Palisades fire were issued, she shared in an interview with USA TODAY at the time. The couple relocated a total of three times during the evacuation process, eventually taking shelter at a business friend's property.
"I truly don't believe that anyone who is not here and who has not gone through this can comprehend what it's like. And I'm fully now hitting angry," Rivers told USA TODAY. "I have had two cries. One was about five minutes, one was about 40 minutes. I don't have time for it. No one has time to wallow."
'No one has time to wallow': Melissa Rivers reflects on losing her home in LA wildfires
Luckily, the ceremony went on without a hitch Saturday, with the pair exchanging vows in front of 150 guests, People reports.
"It's really something that I needed at a time in my life where everything felt like it had been taken away again," Rivers said, reflecting on the nuptials.
The tragedy also had the silver lining of bringing the couple closer together.
"It's very comforting to find out you do crisis so well together," she told People. It was in the midst of that crisis that Rivers came up with the idea of a mock wedding.
"We were staying in the guest room at our friend's house, and Melissa came with the idea of let's exchange our rings," Mitchel told the outlet. "She said, let's just do our vows right here. At first, I thought it was silly, but we did it, and it just brought us so close."
"We took horrible selfies," Rivers joked. "But then we wore our rings for a couple of days, and then we put them back in the box for the real day."
Rivers also made sure there were special touches at the ceremony to honor her late mother. The couple doled out petite golden bee pins for all the guests to wear, People reports − Joan's inspiration and favorite animal.
"When we were planning it, our goal was simple: throw a party and have a wedding ceremony break out somewhere in the middle," she told the outlet. "And you know what? We nailed it. People were meeting, laughing, and by the end of the night, strangers were acting like old friends."
This is Rivers' second marriage. She shares one son with ex-husband John Endicott whom she was married to from 1998 to 2003.
Rivers and Mitchel got engaged in 2023 after meeting at a Didi Hirsch Mental Health and Suicide Prevention event.
Contributing: Brian Truitt, USA TODAY
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