- CNN host Chris Cuomo announced on March 31 via Twitter that he tested positive for the coronavirus, but would continue broadcasting Cuomo Prime Time from his basement.
- He is married to wellness maven Cristina Greeven Cuomo, who also tested positive for coronavirus, per a social media update from Chris Cuomo on April 15.
- Now, their middle child, Mario, 14, has also tested positive, per a social media update. The couple also share two other children: Bella, 17, Carolina, 11.
CNN's Cuomo Prime Time host Chris Cuomo has been spreading the love with the help of his brother, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. With their live televised interviews, the two have kept the public informed about the coronavirus pandemic while also not forgetting to tell each other, "I love you."
As of March 31, however, the CNN host had headline-making news that wasn’t the typical cheeky sibling rivalry or brotherly love. Chris announced that, at the time, he was confined to his basement alone after testing positive for COVID-19.
On Cuomo Prime Time that same night, Chris mentioned to neurosurgeon and CNN contributor Sanjay Gupta that he felt fine for the most part, but that not being able to be the husband and father to his wife and kids was the part that was killing him.
Those special people he’s speaking and tweeting about are Cristina Greeven Cuomo, his wife of 19 years, and his children, Bella, 17, Mario Jr., 14, and Carolina, 11. A New York native, Cristina grew up in Southampton, Long Island, and graduated from Cornell University. She and Chris married in a Catholic wedding in the fall of 2001, with Mario Cuomo, Chris's father and the former New York Governor, calling their union a match made either in heaven or somewhere pretty darn close.
Unfortunately, on April 15, Cuomo, who was still experiencing coronavirus symptoms, announced that despite his wishes that he wouldn't infect his family, his wife Cristina tested positive for coronavirus, over two weeks after him. During a segment on CNN, he said, "it just breaks my heart...it is the one thing I was hoping wouldn't happen and now it has."
In addition, the highly-contagious virus has also infected the couple's middle child, Mario, per an April 22nd Instagram update from Cristina. "After 10 days of ups and downs, feeling good one-day and terrible the next, I am now working hard to get my son, Mario, through the virus," she wrote in the post. "My heart hurts more than my head over his infection. This virus does not discriminate. While kids are more resilient, they can suffer same severity of symptoms." She also noted that Mario's sense of taste and smell have "disappeared."
In addition to advocating for more kindness and to "protect one another," she added: "This virus has created a different version of me. My hope is to be stronger, healthier, smarter about the virus." The family's resilience aside, here's what we know about the Cuomos.
Cristina Greeven and Chris Cuomo got married on November 24, 2001.
The New York Daily News reported that the Catholic ceremony took place at the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Catholic Church in Southampton, Long Island, with Cristina prompting “some hand-wringing” by showing up more than a half hour late. What do you expect? Getting Oscar de la Renta just perfect for one’s big day takes time—clocks be damned.
“I’m waiting for the bride,” former Governor Mario Cuomo said to a reporter, per the outlet, as he stood with his wife, Matilda Cuomo, on the steps of the church. “If she doesn’t show up, you’ll really have a great story.”
Of course, she eventually showed, carrying a bouquet of red roses and wearing lacy Oscar no less. “If this match between Chris and Cristina is not made in heaven, it’s certainly made in the vicinity near heaven,” Mario Cuomo said. “They are both bright, sincere and intelligent people.”
According to the New York Daily News, Cristina at one point added Chris to the "Top 100 Most Eligible Bachelors" list of Manhattan File magazine.
Cristina Greeven Cuomo is the founder of Purist.
In a 2018 interview with The New York Times, Chris shared that his wife runs her business from home. That business is Purist, a wellness magazine with both print and digital editions she launched in 2017. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, she’s been publishing content full of “quarantine cuisine,” coping techniques, and ways to keep your spirits up while self-isolating at home with or without family.
“The Purist is the place to discover ways to refine and define the life you seek. Here, you will find strength, equilibrium, peace of mind, lots of laughter, and loads of love,” she writes on her website.
Before Purist, she was the editor-in-chief for Manhattan and Beach magazines, both titles owned by Modern Luxury. Further print media experience include stints at Gotham and Hamptons magazines, per her LinkedIn page.
Chris and Cristina Cuomo have three children together.
When Chris and Cristina announced they were welcoming baby number three on Good Morning America, Chris joked that he would soon be “outnumbered.” Today, the TV journalist is all smiles when it comes to playing dad to Bella, 17, Mario, 14, and Carolina, 11. In a cute bit of news, it looks like Cristina calls her youngest by the adorable nickname Cha Cha.
The kids love surfing, yoga, and the beach.
If Cristina’s Instagram account is any indication, the great outdoors are where this brood spends most of their free time. Whether Bella, Mario, and Carolina and their parents are walking along a beach, posing on the bow of a boat, skiing down a mountain, or balancing on a surfboard, it’s clear nature plays a leading role in their lives.
Their youngest, Carolina, might be the next Simone Biles.
Okay, so maybe it’s not that kind of Olympic dedication. But the girl definitely has tumbling skills. “Just another day at the beach....my little gymnast Carolina,” her mom captioned a video of the little one cartwheeling and tumbling her way from the shore straight to the ocean. She also won first place, third overall, at her Manhattan Classic Gymnastics meet in January this year.
Chris says Mario Jr. changed his life.
In a feature piece for CNN, Chris got candid about his relationship with his young son, Mario Jr. He said that because the two would butt heads—him, demanding and domineering; his son, introverted and sensitive—he had to change his parenting style completely. Through doing so, he became an entirely different person, and dad.
Mario Jr.’s also a black belt in karate.
“I’ve never been prouder as a mom than at this moment when my son, Mario, after almost 6 years of commitment, focus, and will completed his black belt test. Mario is a black belt now!!!! Here, the kohai is with his karate master, senpai Chadwick Simon,” his proud mom wrote on IG about Mario's athletic milestone.
Their oldest, Bella, participated in the National School Walkout.
In March 2018, when thousands of students walked out of their high schools to protest gun violence in response to the Marjory Stoneham Douglas mass shooting that happened a month earlier, the Cuomos’ oldest, Bella, walked with her fellow classmates down to a presidential tower for a peaceful walkout. According to Cristina’s Instagram post about the event, her daughter got detention for taking a stand.
She’s also a budding stage star.
Again, per Cristina’s Instagram account, Bella has flexed her acting chops in the stage productions of Chicago and Mary Poppins. Not to mention, both the budding stage star and her look-alike mama aren’t shy airing their vocal capabilities. Here they are rocking out to a little “Empire State of Mind” by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.
Hang in there, New York. Hang in there, Chris. We’ll all get through this together.
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DeAnna Janes is a freelance writer and editor for a number of sites, including Harper’s BAZAAR, Tasting Table, Fast Company and Brit + Co, and is a passionate supporter of animal causes, copy savant, movie dork and reckless connoisseur of all holidays. A native Texan living in NYC since 2005, Janes has a degree in journalism from Texas A&M and got her start in media at US Weekly before moving on to O Magazine, and eventually becoming the entertainment editor of the once-loved, now-shuttered DailyCandy. She’s based on the Upper West Side.
![ina garten and jeffrey](https://hips.hearstapps.com/hmg-prod/images/jeffrey-garten-and-ina-garten-attend-the-barefoot-under-the-news-photo-1713807458.jpg?crop=1.00xw:0.668xh;0,0&resize=360:* "2011 "Barefoot Under The Stars" Benefit")
