Amanda Kloots is giving her engagement ring from late husband Nick Cordero new meaning.
Kloots, 42, who lost Cordero to COVID-19 in July 2020, revealed via Instagram on Wednesday that she had repurposed the sparkler the Broadway star proposed to her with.
“Allowing my heart to change,” Kloots began in the caption of the social media post, which showed her unveiling the ring that had been transformed into a heart-shaped diamond stone by Stephanie Gottlieb — who also created the original design.
“The healing process is an ongoing journey with my stepping stones along the way,” Kloots continued. “I waited awhile to do this one because I was so unsure about changing something so special. However, I didn’t want my ring to not be worn and it didn’t fit on another finger the way it was.”
Kloots explained that she wanted something “more casual” that she could wear “every day.”
“I was super picky and very nervous to make this big change,” Kloots wrote. “When I received my new ring yesterday, I cried. It felt like it signified a new chapter for me, another step forward. I love that I decided to make this change when I was ready, and I love that the heart that he gave me will always be in mine.”
Kloots previously worked with Gottlieb on a ring that included some of Cordero’s ashes.
The former professional dancer explained via Instagram in December 2020 that Gottlieb included a sapphire gemstone (Cordero’s birthstone) in the center of the ring and engraved the inside with his initials (NC). Kloots said at the time that she plans to pass this ring onto their son, Elvis.
Elvis was just 13 months old when Cordero died of coronavirus complications at age 41. His death came just a few months after he was taken to Los Angeles’ Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.
A year after his death, Kloots exclusively told Us Weekly that navigating grief is “different” every day.
“A lot of people have said to me, ‘It gets easier [and] time helps,’ and I don’t know if I found that yet,” Kloots shared. “I still pretty much cry every day. It’s growing pains.” She added that she is “doing everything I possibly can to stay healthy and active and happy. And you know, grief is a process … Everybody does it differently.”
In December 2022, Kloots told People that she is open to finding love again. “I’ve definitely gone on lots of dates and all wonderful, nice people, but just nobody that has stuck around.”
