Ricki Lake is giving fans an update, just weeks after the “indescribable” loss of her home in a fire in Los Angeles.
On Saturday, Jan. 25, the talk show host and actress, 56, detailed the support she’s received from friends and brands in the days since her Malibu home was destroyed in the Pacific Palisades fire earlier this month.
“It’s so strange to be in a place of need. I’m such an independent person, I take care of my own since [I was] 18 years,” Lake said in an Instagram Live video.
“I don’t come from money, I don’t come from any charity or nepotism,” she added. “I just built this life for myself, my husband and my kids. It’s so weird that it’s gone in one moment.”
The purpose of her live stream, Lake added, was to thank those who “came forward and offered” help to her family as they look to the future. After revealing she had been staying with friends since the night of January 7, Lake thanked brands including Kroma Wellness, Héilo Skin Care, Ped Shoes, Hårklinikken and several others.
“I can’t even begin to imagine what happened and where we failed … it’s a very strange time to be alive,” she said. – I am really grateful to everyone who contacted me.
“Please keep us in your thoughts and all of us going through this nightmare of having to rebuild our lives,” Lake added. “I’ll be fine. I’m one of the lucky ones because I have insurance. It doesn’t replace what’s lost, but we’ll create a new magical place.”
Ricki Lake says it’s ‘exhausting and paralyzing’ to think about building a new home after losing her own in the LA fires
The Hair spray the star then revealed that she gained some new followers through the tragedy. She encouraged them to “go back and look” at how her home looked before the fire.
“I will continue to stay in touch,” Lake told fans and loved ones. “I do these TikToks when I’m drunk. I’m self-medicating, I’m going to be real — I do it for fun, just to lighten the load a little bit because it’s really hard when I put my head down at night. It’s really, really a lot to take in.”
“Anyway, thank you all. I hope you have a safe and enjoyable weekend,” she concluded.
Ricki Lake gives a dramatic step-by-step account of her fight to save her Los Angeles home: ‘Do we stay or do we go?’
icki Lake speaks on stage during End Well 2024 at the Skirball Cultural Center on November 22, 2024.
Michael Kovac/Getty
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Lake previously announced in an Instagram post on January 8 that her Malibu home – where she married husband Ross Burningham in January 2022 – was tragically gutted in the LA wildfires. At the time, she called the property their “heaven on earth” and “the place where we planned to grow old together”, describing the loss as “immeasurable”.
In the weeks since, Lake has detailed how she bravely fought to save the home and has continued to share memories from the place she called her “sanctuary.”
In a Jan. 20 Instagram post, the star referred to the property as her “hub for so many friends and loved ones.”
“Too many gatherings to count. Endless areas on the property to socialize, dance and play. Right now it’s exhausting and paralyzing trying to think about how I’m going to do it all over again,” she wrote, before adding, “but I will. 🙏❤️💔.”
Click here to learn more about how to help victims of the Los Angeles wildfires.
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Source: HIS Education