Rita Wilson, 69, is looking back at one of the personal conversations she had with husband Tom Hanks, 69, after her cancer diagnosis—and the two requests she made if things didn’t go her way. Speaking on Tuesday at the Sound of a Woman: Rita Wilson in Conversation with Demi Moore event, the actress said she wasn’t sure what the future held when she was diagnosed in 2015, so she laid it out plainly for her husband of nearly four decades. First: “Be sad for a very long time.” Second: “Throw me a party. I want it to be a celebration of life,” she said, with people “telling stories and joy and remembering me in that way.” That deeply personal moment later inspired her 2019 song “Throw Me a Party.” Wilson’s reflections come as she marks 10 years cancer-free. In a March 31 Instagram post, she looked back on her journey, including undergoing a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery—milestones she said have left her “extremely grateful” for the support of her family, friends, and doctors. Wilson first met Hanks on the set of the sitcom Bosom Buddies. After two years of dating, they got married in 1988 and went on to have two children, Chester “Chet” Hanks and Truman Theodore Hanks.
