Amanda Kloots also spoke about the special ring she had made from her late husband's ashes.
It's a big day for both Amanda Kloots and Elaine Welteroth, who officially started their first days as co-hosts of The Talk on Monday. ET's Kevin Frazier spoke with both women, who said it felt like the first day of school.
"It's like this bubbling, exciting energy inside of me and it finally feels like this dream is becoming a reality," Kloots says. "It's very exciting."
Welteroth notes, "It's felt really surreal, sort of being in this incubation period between, like, knowing you have the job, but like, not yet starting the job. So, today it get really real. And I'm really excited about it."
Kloots and Welteroth said their fellow hosts -- Sharon Osbourne, Sheryl Underwood and Carrie Ann Inaba -- have all been supportive, especially Inaba, even though she's been recovering after testing positive for COVID-19. Both women also shared that they're ready to be open and vulnerable on television. Kloots has especially been dealing with a tough time after the death of her beloved husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero, in July, following a lengthy hospitalization and numerous health complications due to COVID-19. Kloots told ET that Cordero would have been her biggest supporter when it comes to her new gig.
"Oh, he would be like, 'Babe! Oh my god!'" she says with a laugh. "He'd be like, 'I'm not surprised, go get 'em.' He was my ultimate cheerleader, he really, really was. He inspired me to start my own fitness business, he encouraged that change in my life. I know he's right beside me today through this."
She also talked about the ring she recently had made using some of Cordero's ashes, which she plans to give to their 1-year-old son, Elvis, in the future.
"It's so special," she says. "To be honest, you know, I never knew all the different ways that you could incorporate someone's ashes into your life. You know, I always thought they had to be in an urn and on a mantle and these little things that I've been able to be introduced to, like this ring ... it's beautiful. I feel like he's with me every day and I absolutely love it and cherish it and it'll be handed down to Elvis one day."
Kloots shared she was grateful for fans' support throughout Cordero's battle with the coronavirus, and is looking forward to sharing more about herself on The Talk.
"Honestly, the social media army that formed around me during that time, it was so beautiful," she reflects. "I would never have gotten through everything without them and I did share a lot of myself and a lot of experiences, and so they do know me, but I think in watching The Talk you'll get to know me even more. You'll get to know a little bit more about me and I look forward to that."
As for Welteroth, the former Teen Vogue editor-in-chief talked about herself getting unexpectedly emotional on the show.
"I will say, I've been on TV, you know, I've done different things, but I've never been on a show like this where you feel literally like your emotions are right, like right there at the surface of your skin," she shares. "And there's this vulnerability and this feeling that you can be transparent and you can cry if you need to or want to. And I've found myself getting choked up and I'm like, 'What's going on? What's happening to me right now?' I just think the environment that the women create is just such a special safe space."
And of course, the super stylish New York Times best-selling author is ready to bring her fashion A-game to the show.
"I'm ready to bring, you know, capital F fashion to daytime TV," she says. "It's just been a part of my life from the very beginning. ... You know, I started my career at Ebony magazine working with fashion and beauty, glamour at Teen Vogue, and I love that fashion is a form of self-expression, you know, so it's like you put on your uniform and you feel like you bring a different side of yourself to whatever it is you're doing, so, I'm gonna have fun definitely playing dress-up for The Talk."
The Talk airs weekdays on CBS.
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