Yasbeck i Ritter they met in 1990 while working on the comedy “Dear Urchin”. They quickly became a couple and got married in 1999. “John and I bonded through comedy. We watched old movies. Then he would show me how to fall or take a fake punch and spit something out in a comical way. I learned physical comedy from a master, which he was undoubtedly,” Yasbeck recalled. The couple had one child. Ritter also had two sons and a daughter from his previous relationship with actress Nancy Morgan.
On September 11, 2003, the actor was during rehearsals for the next episode of the series “8 Simple Rules” when he began to feel severe chest pain. Soon symptoms also appeared. He was quickly transported to the nearest hospital. Doctors initially thought he had a heart attack. Upon further evaluation, a dissecting aneurysm was found. Urgent surgery was recommended. However, the actor could not be saved. He passed away less than a week before his 55th birthday.
Yasbeck established a foundation named after her late husband, conducting research on dissecting aneurysm. “I wanted to understand what it was, find the genetic element, which turned out to be very high, and try to protect John and his brother's children,” she said. Tommy, Ritter's brother, underwent testing a few years later. “They found (an enlarged aorta). In the same place. He had surgery before Christmas. And he is alive,” the actress told Today in 2008.
In an interview with People, Yasbeck admitted that she and Ritter's children have a way of keeping the memory of the late actor alive. “We send each other videos of slapstick comedy. People falling, birds hitting someone's head, things like that. Then we write, 'John' or 'Dad would love this,'” she admitted.
The actress also revealed that she is not dating anyone. “I could. But I'm not in the mood. It's going to sound weird, but I think if I were dating, I'd miss John even more. Besides, I always feel like he's with me, and that's not a game for three people,” she said.