Ryan Seacrest Shares Dad Gary Seacrest's Final Words Before His Death

“I was by his bedside over the last several days,” he said. “My mother was by his bedside, my sister by his bedside. We held his hand, we kissed his forehead, we watched every last moment with our father, my mom's husband of fifty-six years.”

He continued, “It was the most difficult dichotomy and strange combination of feelings I've ever felt because of the difficulty and the toughness and seeing this happen, the helplessness you have.”

The American Idol host  also gushed over the close relationship he had with his dad, and the legacy Gary is leaving behind for their family.

“He was a champion of family dinners,” Ryan explained. “He always wanted us to have dinner together so we could talk, and he would show up—he would show up.”

Ryan also emphasized how loved Gary made every member of his family feel. 

“He was so proud of his marriage and his love of my mom, of fifty-six years,” he said. “He was proud of my sister, who was proud of her family. He was proud of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation. This is something that we did together and he actually ran it for so many years, almost two decades.”

He added, “He was the ultimate gentleman. He did the things that you hope someone who's with your daughter, in this case my mom, does for your daughter, right? Really respects, communicates, stands on the street side when she's on the sidewalk.”

As Ryan summed it up in his Oct. 31 Instagram post sharing the news, “He was a devoted husband for 56 years, an incredible Papa to Flora, and my best friend.”

For more on Ryan’s family life, and the time he spent with his dad, read on.