Katie Couric Remembers Late Husband Jay Monahan on What Would Have Been His 64th Birthday

Even though Katie Couric has been married to John Molner since 2014, she’ll never forget her first husband, Jay Monahan, who sadly died in 1998 from colon cancer.

“Jay, we love you and miss you every day,” the journalist wrote via Instagram on Thursday, January 9. “On this day, we celebrate what would have been your 64th birthday. ❤️ You completed our January trifecta of bdays … the 5th, the 7th and the 9th. There must be something cosmic about that. You live on in your girls and in our hearts.”

Katie, 63, ended her heartfelt tribute to John by sharing a sweet quote by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross. “Love is really the only thing we can possess, keep with us and take with us,” she said.

Katie and John welcomed two beautiful daughters — Elinor, 28, and Caroline, 24 — together. On Sunday, January 5, she celebrated Caroline’s birthday by writing her a sweet tribute on Instagram.

“Happy birthday to the brilliant, beautiful, ebullient, creative, hilarious, quirky, compassionate Carrie Monahan!!!!” the mom of two gushed alongside a couple of throwback pics of her daughter. “Hard to believe this was 24 years ago! Yesterday a child came out to wonder, caught a dragonfly inside a jar, fearful when the sky was full of thunder and tearful at the falling of a star. I love you.”

Katie’s family means so much to her. A source previously told Closer Weekly the Sugar Savvy Solution: Kick Your Sugar Addiction for Life and Get Healthy author and John love to go on date nights together.

“They really enjoy each other’s company, and Katie loves having a partner to come home to and have date nights with,” the insider said. “Katie and John are so happy!”

In June 2014, the couple tied the knot in a beautiful backyard wedding. “I just wasn’t nervous at all,” the TV personality once recalled of her wedding day. “For someone who is generally hyper, I was incredibly relaxed.”

Since then, John and Katie have had so many adventures together. But no matter what, she’ll always keep Jay close in her heart.