Ellen DeGeneres Pays Tribute to ‘Boyfriend’ Tayt Andersen After His Death at Age 19

Ellen DeGeneres is honoring Tayt Andersen after his death at age 19.

“We had a very special guest on the show several times, and his name is Tayt, and he thought that I was his girlfriend, so I told him he was my boyfriend, which shocked my wife,” DeGeneres, 67, said in a social media video shared on Friday, September 26.

She continued, “He was a very special little human being and just brought joy and life and laughter into every room that he was in. And I will miss him.”

DeGeneres began to tear up as she nodded for the camera. The video then shared a series of throwback clips of Anderson, who was born with a congenial heart condition. In one clip, Andersen’s mom, Chrissy Becker, explained that he would tell his doctors to “go away” until The Ellen DeGeneres Show was over.

In another video, Becker explained that Andersen was struggling but told her, “Mommy, I gotta get better. I gotta go see my girlfriend. I gotta go see Ellen.”

When Andersen told DeGeneres he would be receiving a new heart, she replied, “Let me tell you something right now. There aren’t too many people I’ve met that have a heart as good as yours, as you have right now. You have an amazing heart. You are an amazing guy. But if you want to get another heart, that’s OK with me.”

“I love you Tayt. I love you Chrissy. You touched so many lives. @taytandersen @chrissydawn101,” DeGeneres captioned the post, to which Becker replied, “We love you so much thank you for being his girlfriend you gave him so much strength.”

Andersen’s family announced on Instagram that he died on September 26.

“Our hearts are absolutely shattered as we share the news we never wanted to write: Our sweet, strong warrior, Tayt, was released from his bodily prison early this morning, at 1:30 a.m. CT, surrounded by the fierce love of his family,” a post shared via Andersen’s account read.

“While our souls feel shattered and lost by this unimaginable grief, we are so thankful that Tayt is finally free. No more pain, no more appointments, no more treatments.”

The tribute continued, “Tayt was loved by so many, and he impacted countless lives with his incredible smile, his quiet strength, his kindness, and his beautiful love.”

The upload shared that Andersen took “a turn for the worse due to an infection” the weekend prior and “fought one last battle.”

“He was so alert and responsive on Sunday, but by the night, he was in pain,” the post read. “After a long night, he finally found peace and drifted off to sleep around 4:00 a.m. Monday. He remained asleep and unresponsive, resting comfortably, until he passed away peacefully early this morning.”

The statement shared that they “spent the day calling and FaceTiming family so they could say their goodbyes.” The family also “made sure to get his handprint—a small way to hold on to him— we watched his favorite movies, read his favorite stories. We knew Tayt time was limited but we honestly just weren’t ready to lose him.”

“Please keep Chrissy, Tayt, and our family in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this crushing grief,” the post concluded. “There are truly no words to describe this pain; we are just moving through this painful process, grateful for every moment we had with our amazing boy. Please give us grace during this time. If you’d like to help with funeral and transition costs, the GoFundMe link is in our bio. 💔#JustKeepSwimming @ellendegeneres @gofundme @heroesforchildren.”

Former producer of The Ellen DeGeneres Show Andy Lassner wrote in the comments section, “So, so sorry. Thank you for sharing him with the world. 💔❤️.”