Rita Wilson told Tom Hanks after her breast cancer diagnosis in 2015 that if she were to die, she wanted him to be “sad for a very long time.â€
The actress recalled the couple's heartfelt conversation about her health battle while speaking with Demi Moore at the Sound of a Woman: Rita Wilson in Conversation event in New York City on Tuesday.
“I said to Tom, I'm like, ‘OK, if, if something happens and I go first, I just have two requests. And one is that you should be sad for a very, very long time,’†Wilson, 69, revealed, per People.
Her second request for Hanks, 69, was to “throw me a party.â€
“I want it to be a celebration of life,†Wilson remembered telling Hanks. “I want it to be about people telling stories and joy and remembering me in that way.â€
“And I think people, a lot of people want that, you know?†she added. “I think there's room for that.â€
Wilson, who has been married to Hanks since 1988, underwent a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery after doctors found “invasive†cancer in 2015.
The “Sleepless in Seattle†star told Moore that her 2019 song “Throw Me a Party†was inspired by her and Hank's conversation after her diagnosis.
“The song … it came out of this, this story I've told before, but if you haven't heard it, it was, when you get the diagnosis and you're like, ‘I don't know, I don't know what's gonna happen, but I hope I'm still here, you know, in a few years,’†Wilson told the crowd.
After reflecting on her cancer battle, Wilson happily told the crowd, “I'm here. Yay!â€
In March 2025, Wilson marked a decade since she was cancer-free with a heartfelt Instagram post.
“10 years. And I am so deeply grateful,†Wilson told her followers.
She continued, “The gratitude is overwhelming. Didn't always feel this way. And you know that, anybody who's going through [it, or] who's survived knows that it's an up and down, like, hamster wheel. But then you get to this point.â€
Wilson said that while she doesn't “talk about it much,†she posted about her cancer-free anniversary because “it's important to celebrate good news.â€
“I am thinking of anybody out there who might be going through some difficulties,†she added. “You're in my thoughts and prayers.â€