Ted Danson reveals lifestyle changes after recent health scare

KiMi Robinson, USA TODAYWed, May 6, 2026 at 10:34 PM UTC

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Ted Danson is counting his lucky stars after a recent health scare.

The 78-year-old "Cheers" alumnus revealed on the May 6 episode of his "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" podcast, which featured guest Valerie Bertinelli, that he's making lifestyle changes after experiencing an unspecified medical issue.

"I had a bit of a health scare; I'm totally fine," Danson told the actress, adding that the incident left him understanding that "mortality, it's the real deal; it's not just a rumor."

"Ted Danson doesn't get a free pass," he joked, adding that there wasn't any one contributor he could blame for the health issue.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen attend the 31st annual Critics' Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on Jan. 4, 2026, in Santa Monica, California.

Danson said that the experience was "humbling and calming," and believes it "was the best thing that could have happened."

He is "doing some things differently," the actor disclosed, such as meditating twice a day with wife Mary Steenburgen. "I've always talked about it and lied about it," Danson admitted.

He said the experience's "biggest gift" was recognizing the attitude he wants to carry for "the rest of my life."

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"You can be curious about other people. You can listen, and you could be supportive, caring, you can witness them," Danson explained. "That's the best thing I can offer."

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen meditate, play word games daily

Aside from the twice-a-day meditations, Danson told USA TODAY in 2025 that he and Steenburgen also spend each morning drinking coffee and playing the same word games on their phones. The actor said he is still "smitten" after 30 years of marriage.

"It's so much fun to play falling in love with someone you're madly in love with," he said of acting opposite his wife on Season 2 of Netflix's "A Man on the Inside." "You just sink into each other, which is lovely."

The widely adored pair have spent decades at the intersection of love and work, first crossing paths when Danson unsuccessfully auditioned to play Steenburgen’s husband in the 1983 film romance "Cross Creek." They became a real-life couple after playing one in 1994's "Pontiac Moon" and married in 1995.

They even endured split rumors after playing versions of themselves who got divorced in 2024's Season 10 of Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm."

"That actually pissed me off when I came to work and found I had divorced Mary," Danson said. "We had people who knew us, who had dinner with us a month before, call and ask, 'Oh my God, is it true?' And Mary said, 'Yes, it's true, and we decided to announce it on 'Curb Your Enthusiasm.'"

Contributing: Bryan Alexander

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ted Danson opens up about lifestyle changes after recent health scare

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