Ellen DeGeneres is mourning the death of Tayt Andersen, who appeared on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” on multiple occasions as a child.
Andersen, who was born with a congenial heart condition, died Sept. 26, 2025, his family announced. He was 19.
DeGeneres shared a heartfelt message on Instagram remembering Andersen, which included several clips from his appearances on her show.
At the beginning of the video, DeGeneres addressed the camera, sharing, “We had a very special guest on the show several times, and his name is Tayt, and he thought that I was his girlfriend, so I told him he was my boyfriend, which shocked my wife.”
“He was a very special little human being and just brought joy and life and laughter into every room that he was in,” DeGeneres added as she teared up. “And I will miss him.”
The video transitioned into a compilation of Andersen’s visits on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” over the years, which captured the young boy’s health journey.
The clips explained that Andersen was born without the left side of his heart, with his mom, Chrissy Becker, sharing that at one point, he had already had nine heart surgeries.
DeGeneres was his shining light throughout his health complications, with Becker explaining that he would tell his doctors to “go away” until the show was over, would have his nurses watch the show alongside him and made sure his therapy was scheduled around the show.
At one point, Becker said that Andersen wasn’t doing well but after a call from DeGeneres, he told his mom, “Mommy, I gotta get better…I gotta go see my girlfriend. I gotta go see Ellen.” He also returned to the show in November 2015 after receiving a heart transplant.
DeGeneres shared a message for Andersen’s family in the caption, writing, “I love you Tayt. I love you Chrissy. You touched so many lives.”
In the comment section, Becker shared a message back to DeGeneres, writing, “We love you so much thank you for being his girlfriend you gave him so much strength.”
Andersen’s death was announced on social media, with his family penning an emotional post on Instagram Sept. 26 on his personal page.
“Our hearts are absolutely shattered as we share the news we never wanted to write: Our sweet, strong warrior, Tayt, was released from his bodily prison early this morning, at 1:30 a.m. CT, surrounded by the fierce love of his family,” the caption began.
In the years leading up to his death, Andersen faced several health challenges, including a years-long battle with post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, a common life-threatening complication of organ transplants, per the National Institutes of Health.
In 2024, he was diagnosed with Stage 4 bladder cancer and in June 2025, his cancer had spread into his kidneys, stomach, lungs and lymph nodes in his neck.
“While our souls feel shattered and lost by this unimaginable grief, we are so thankful that Tayt is finally free,” the family’s post continued. “No more pain, no more appointments, no more treatments.”
In the post, Andersen’s family explained that he “fought one last battle” after an infection, adding, “He remained asleep and unresponsive, resting comfortably, until he passed away peacefully early this morning.”
“We made sure to get his handprint—a small way to hold on to him— we watched his favorite movies, read his favorite stories,” the post read. “We knew Tayt time was limited but we honestly just weren’t ready to lose him.”
The caption asked for thoughts and prayers for Becker and the family during this period of “crushing grief,” adding, “There are truly no words to describe this pain; we are just moving through this painful process, grateful for every moment we had with our amazing boy.”