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"I wanted to go to Ground Zero and pick up the rubble myself until I found him," she said on the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
Rachel Uchitel shared the heartbreaking story of how she lost "the love of her life" to the terrorist attacks of 9/11.
In an emotional Instagram post on the 20th anniversary of the tragedy, Uchitel recalled how her boyfriend, Andy O'Grady, was working in Tower 2 of the World Trade Center on the 104th floor when the second plane hit the building.
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View Story"I was at work, Bloomberg TV, and we were of course covering the news," she began. "I remember speaking to him and what he was saying on the phone. I remember watching his building fall and not being able to catch my breath. I remember the whole newsroom floor got silent. They had all just watched me watch Andy die. And it was all too unreal."
"I remember it was hard to eat or sleep or sit and wait," she continued. "I wanted to go to ground zero and pick up the rubble myself until I found him. The despair of not knowing was beyond words. The fear I had about what he went through in those 56 minutes has consumed me at times. This event changed who I was completely."
Uchitel went on to say how Andy was "the biggest personality in the room" with a smile "like no other." They were even planning their wedding until his life was taken at the age of 32.
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"I remember hearing that Andy might be at Bellevue Hospital on a list of people who made it out, so I ran over there. And this is where the iconic photo was taken of me searching for him," she explained, referencing the photo of her holding a missing sign of Andy that she had reposted on IG. She said the image was "ran in papers across the world," which caused an outpouring of love and support from "complete strangers."
"Everyone wanted to know about Andy. And for that I am so thankful because I was so cared about when I couldn't even bare to wake up everyday. It was the honor of my life to have been loved by James Andy O’Grady. I am thankful that because of that photo, more people know his name."
Uchitel included beautiful photos of the couple in her Instagram post.
See memories of that tragic day from more celebrities, below.
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