“Reba” star Christopher Rich made a rare public appearance this week, marking a triumphant step forward after years of recovery from a devastating stroke.
The actor, 72, stepped out with wife Eva Halina Rich at the annual Paley Honors Fall Gala at The Beverly Hilton on Monday, November 10, where he reunited with his former costars Reba McEntire and Melissa Peterman.
Chris Rich Suffered Devastating a Stroke
Rich walked with a cane as he posed for photos on the red carpet Monday.
Earlier this year, he opened up about being diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury following a massive stroke in 2018.
“After my stroke and having a brain injury, it is like I got hit with an atomic bomb. So it all gets traumatized, and it is a hard reset,” he told Us Weekly in February 2025. “After I finally got out of the hospital, I was moving around again. Then I threw a bunch of blood clots and ended up in the hospital with lung embolisms and debris on my heart. After surviving all of that crap, Iâm feeling really, really good.”
GettyHe went on to say that he lost 50 pounds “since the last time I was a regular on television.”
“I just donât have much of an appetite anymore. But Iâm not disappointed by losing weight,” he added ahead of his guest starring role on Reba’s sitcom “Happy’s Place.”
Rich previously revealed that the stroke damaged part of his brain and impaired his ability to walk.
“It destroyed some of my brain so what I have been doing is Iâve been trying to redevelop neural pathways,” he said in a 2022 video for his medicine clinic. “My left side was completely frozen. I couldnât walk or use my left arm.”
‘Reba’ Cast Reunited for ‘Happy’s Place’
Rich — who played Brock Hart on the beloved sitcom from 2001 to 2007 — reunited with McEntire, who portrayed the titular character and Brock’s ex-wife, and Peterman, Brock’s former mistress and new wife, as a guest star on their new series.
“I’ve basically taken the last decade off. And if anyone was going to drag me out of the dark corner of the closet, it would be the redhead,” Rich joked to Entertainment Tonight in February.
It was as if art imitated life as Rich played Maverick in “Happy’s Place”, a local tattoo artist had suffered a stroke and could only use his right hand.
“Itâs great to be able to be a disabled person and play a disabled person,” he told Us Weekly. Iâm hoping that when some of this gets out there, that people that Iâve worked with in the past are going to say, âOK, letâs bring him back. We can work with him.ââ
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