Jacy Nittolo remembered her late fiance Ray Liotta on Saturday as a “beautiful person inside and out.”
In a statement posted on Instagram, Nittolo, 47, detailed her bond with the “Goodfellas” and “Field of Dreams” star, who died last week in his sleep at age 67. The couple got engaged in December 2020.
“My life these past couple of years have been nothing but truly magical,” Nittolo wrote in her memorial post. “Ray and I share a deep love that I will cherish in my heart forever. We laughed daily and we were inseparable.”
While appearing on a September 2021 episode of “Live With Kelly & Ryan,” Liotta told co-hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest that his daughter, Karsen, set him up with Nittolo after attending a party at the latter’s home. Upon meeting Nittolo, Karsen told her she would be a “perfect” match for her dad and suggested they go out, according to Liotta.
Though Nittolo wasn’t initially keen on dating an actor in his 60s, and Liotta was hesitant to pursue a woman in her 40s with a 10-year-old child, they eventually fell in love, the Emmy winner told Ripa and Seacrest. Between them, Nittolo and Liotta had five children from previous relationships.
“The buzzkill for me was she also had a 10-year-old, and when you’re in your 60s, the last thing that you want is a 10-year-old,” Liotta said at the time. “Luckily, this kid is very cool.”
This weekend on Instagram, Nittolo posted a series of images of her and Liotta sharing kisses, smiles, laughs and family moments.
“The chemistry was wild in the best way,” Nittolo wrote.
“He was everything in the world to me and we couldn’t get enough of each other. The kind of real love that one dreams of. He was the most beautiful person inside and out that I’ve ever known … and even that is an understatement.”