Two weeks after the influencer Sarah Bennett‘s dead after a battle with ALS, her husband, Rusty Bennetthe is looking back at his first signs of illness.
Rusty, 43, revealed that Sara, a teacher ahead of her retirement in 2023, first noticed something was wrong when her right hand wouldn’t work properly when she tried to cut out some of her students’ papers.
“I said, ‘Here,’ and I cut it for her, and that was it. She went about her day, evaluating some things,” Rusty recalled in an interview with people posted on Monday, January 26, adding that Sara decided to visit her doctor after the “strange numbness” in her hand continued for a week.
Sara and Rusty, who share sons Lincoln, 9, and William, 7, initially thought he had a pinched nerve. However, a doctor informed them that the problem could have been rooted in his spine or brain.
Eric Dane shared an emotional update on his recent ALS diagnosis while appearing on Good Morning America. Dane, 52, sat down with Diane Sawyer for an interview that aired on Monday, June 16, sharing some insight into how he noticed things looked awry. “I started to experience some weakness in my right hand. And I didn’t (…)
“That’s when the, excuse my French, ‘Oh shit’ started,” Rusty continued, recalling that Sara underwent tests and procedures over the next year. “It’s a miserable ride. There’s no way. ALS is disqualifying 1,000 things.”
After ruling out multiple sclerosis and cancer, Sara’s doctors diagnosed her with ALS and gave her a life expectancy of two to five years.
In the spring of 2025, Rusty and Sara sat their children down to prepare them for their mother’s death.
“It was (the) worst conversation I’ve ever had in my entire life,” Rusty told the network. “And they handled it a lot better than we did.”
Much to her family’s surprise, Sara made it through last year’s holiday season and was able to celebrate Rusty’s birthday on New Year’s Eve.
“It was amazing. We got to see the ball go down,” he recalled. “(Sara) was in our master bedroom; she couldn’t really go anywhere for the last two months, but we partied right there in the bedroom.”
Sara posthumously announced her own death at the age of 39 through a message written on January 13.
“I’m not in pain or tired. I can laugh, I can talk and I can move,” he wrote via Instagram, where he has amassed more than 114,000 followers. “Reflecting on my last few months of my life, I’m glad I didn’t suddenly go even with suffering. I finished my list. Even if you don’t believe in anything, I’m feeding the earth and my tree. I loved this life and I’m grateful for the time.”
Former Broadway performer and influencer Bret Hanna-Shuford has died. He was 46 years old. “It is with heavy hearts that we share the news that early this morning we said goodbye to the most amazing man, husband and father in the universe,” Bret’s husband Stephen Hanna-Shuford wrote in a statement on Saturday, Jan. 3 through his “Broadway (…)
Rusty broke his silence on his wife’s death a week later
“We’ve both been blessed. I’m very close to my family and (Sara) has a great family and a lot of friends,” he said. people in an interview published on January 20. “Definitely everyone has reached out and (is) doing everything they can to help.”
Recalling their mini New Year’s Eve party, Rusty added: “It was unexpected and pretty wonderful to even have her there. The kids went to bed and we had to do our nightly routine to get her to bed, and it was like, ‘Wow. It’s 2026. You’ve made it.'”