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What should be a happy moment for Milo Ventimiglia and his pregnant wife Jarah Mariano preparing to expand their family turned into tragedy this week when their home burned down in the devastating Los Angeles wildfires, days before she is set to give birth to their first child together.
The Gilmore Girls alum fought back tears while speaking to CBS Evening News on Thursday (January 9) about how he and Mariano, who is nine months pregnant, evacuated their Malibu home on Tuesday before it ultimately burned down in the Palisades fire, per People. The couple, who had their baby's nursery set up to welcome their newborn, watched through their security cameras as the blaze destroyed their home.
"I think there's a kind of shock moment where you go, 'Oh, this is real. This is happening,'" he said. "Then, at a certain point, we just turn it off. It's like, 'What? What good is it to continue watching?' ... We kind of accepted the loss."
Ventimiglia, known for his role in This Is Us, also noted that "it's not lost on [him]" that "life [is] imitating art," referring to an eerily similar situation involving his character, whose family home also burned down. However, seeing it play out in real life is something else entirely.
"You start thinking about all the memories in different parts of the house and whatnot. And then you see your neighbors' houses and everything, kind of around, and your heart just breaks," he said. Fortunately, he and Mariano have a strong support system and are recognizing that keeping their family safe is what is most important. "We got good friends, and we got good people we're working with, and we'll make due. We'll make due. Wife and baby and dog most important."
