Ever since the pandemic eased and restrictions began to get lifted, fans of Howard Stern bemoaned the fact he wouldn't return to his New York City studio. Instead, Stern opted to do his live radio show from the comfort of his basement -- both at his Hamptons house and his Palm Beach mansion. This was due to his increasing worry of getting sick, not just with COVID, but with anything. Many believed that Stern risked the end of his show when he cut himself off from his staffers and refused to work with them in person.
Since the fall of 2022, Howard Stern has started to slowly come out of his "bunker". He's been seen at dinner with his celebrity friends and has invited some people over to his home. But in June 2023, Stern was forced to challenge his crippling fear of germs by attending his youngest daughter Ashley's massive wedding...
Is Howard Stern Cured Of His Germaphobia And Fear Of Covid?
During his June 26th, 2023 show, Howard Stern revealed that he did something he hasn't done in years... attend an event. Fans of Stern know that he has always been germaphobic. But his illness was amplified tenfold when the COVID-19 pandemic began.
So much so that he refused to leave his house for almost two years despite being vaccinated. This was much to the chagrin of his wife, Beth Stern, who wanted to socialize and see her friends.
Slowly but surely, Stern began to loosen up, allowing visitors into their home if they were tested first. It took almost three years for Stern to go out to a restaurant without a mask on. And just as long for him to return to his studio, although he is only going in person sometimes.
Fortunately for fans, Stern's youngest daughter from his first marriage, Ashley, forced him to face his fears and perhaps move through the worst of his illness.
On June 24th, 2023, Ashley Stern, the nurse practitioner, got married at a massive ceremony over the course of three days. For months, Stern was telling his audience how he was worried about attending the event but that he would. And now that he has, he has admitted that he will get out in the public more.
"I have been sequestered for three years. I haven't been around a lot of people," Howard Stern said to his radio audience and co-host Robin Quivers."But my daughter got married. She had 230 people."
Stern went on to say that the wedding was "beautiful" and that he had seen a lot of people he hadn't seen in a while.
"Nobody has seen you!" Robin Quivers joked.
"And all of a sudden I was surrounded by people. I felt good actually -- to be a human being again," Stern admitted.
"Did this change anything for you?" Quivers asked. "Like, 'Oh, I wanna celebrate and have a good time again'?"
"Yeah. Howard's back. Howard's back..." Stern admitted. "I'm just going to go out and be a normal person."
While Howard Stern has stated that he plans on rejoining society, and will no longer test guests who come to his house, he will continue to wear masks in big public venues and doctor's offices. He also admitted to carrying around hand sanitizer at the wedding to use whenever someone shook his hand.
So, while Stern will always have aspects of his germaphobia, it does seem like attending Ashley's wedding allowed him to make great progress in his battle.
Inside Howard Stern's Daughter Ashley's Wedding To Adam Weinstein
Howard Stern's youngest daughter Ashley married Adam Weinstein on Saturday, June 24th, 2023. The wedding events were at unspecified locations in New York State and consisted of three days of functions.
This required Howard and Beth Stern to travel from their Hamptons mansion and stay at a hotel, something that the radio legend notoriously hates. Still, he was happy to be there for his daughter for the rehearsal dinner, wedding, and Sunday brunch with the Weinstein family.
Little to nothing is known about Ashley Stern's husband Adam Weinstein. After all, Howard Stern almost never discusses his family on the radio, allowing them some privacy. This includes the revelation that he has a granddaughter, thanks to his middle daughter, Deborah, who served as Ashley's maid of honor.
Stern's 3-year-old granddaughter was the flower girl at Ashley's wedding, despite the fact she forgot to throw the flowers. During the live show, Beth let Howard's granddaughter's name slip. But it was later cut from the replay for privacy reasons.
According to Reditt, Howard Stern's granddaughter's name is Naomi.
But Howard Stern was a little more forthcoming about his new son-in-law, Adam Weinstein. During his broadcast, Stern revealed that he likes Adam very much.
"He's such a great guy. But you know, he's got to put in a few more years before I really see what's doing, " Stern admitted before claiming his family are very "classy" people.
According to LinkedIn, Adam Weinstein has been the director of business development at Manhattan Motorcars for upwards of 14 years. Videos on Youtube show that Stenr's new son-in-law is a car aficionado. But little to nothing else is known about him.
Stern did admit that Ashley and Adam's vows to each other were extremely touching. But their first kiss as a married couple disturbed him.
"I thought Adam was kissing my daughter with his mouth open. I didn't like that. I didn't want to see that," Stern admitted.
Howard Stern said that he walked Ashley down the aisle with his ex-wife and the mother of his three daughters, Alison Berns. In addition, he gave the father of the bride speech not long after his eldest daughter, Emily (an ordained Rabbi) married Ashley and Adam.
"[Ashley] was a beautiful bride. I cried," Howard Stern admitted. "If I start thinking about it, I'll cry now."
