Larry King did not die from COVID-19, says wife Shawn King

Larry King's wife, Shawn, revealed that her husband's cause of death is not COVID-19 as previously reported. Instead, he died from an infection.

Shawn told ET this week that the TV legend died from sepsis. She confirmed reports that he was in the hospital because of COVID-19. But it did not kill him because he was able to beat it.

"It was an infection, it was sepsis...Once we heard the word COVID, all of our hearts just sunk. But he beat it, you know, he beat it, but it did take its toll and then the unrelated infection finally is what took him, but boy, he was not gonna go down easily," she shared.

The 61-year old added that Larry was "finally ready to go." His body just could not take it anymore after all that he has been through with his health.

"I will tell you that. You know, he never wanted to go but his sweet little body was just, it had just been hit so many times with so many things," she said.

Shawn also recalled her last conversation with the 87-year old while he was hospitalised. She said they did FaceTime and although it was "hard for him to talk," he managed to tell her that he loves her.

"The one message that he wanted to make sure I heard was, 'I love you, take care of the boys,'" she shared.

The broadcasting legend died on Jan. 23 and his death was mourned by everyone, not just his family, but by colleagues and friends who have come to know him. Shawn said that he may not be physically present anymore but she believes that he is "still around us."

"I can feel him. I can very, very distinctly feel him around me and around us. I'm sure he is so happy at the coverage that his passing has gotten," she said adding, "All of these beautiful tributes, you know, I'm sure he's thrilled, and the family, we're all just so happy and so proud of him for all the wonderful things that he did. He did a lot."

Shawn said that despite Larry's career accomplishments, what he feels most proud of is his family. He has five children, two sons with Shawn, and the others from previous marriages. She said his death brought the family closer together.