You’ve probably seen Richard Engel on your TV, wearing a flak jacket in some dust-blown war zone, shouting over the sound of mortar fire. It’s a job that demands a certain kind of steel. But for Richard Engel and wife Mary Forrest, the real battle hasn't been in Ukraine or Iraq. It's been at home.
The couple's life changed forever in 2017. That's when their eldest son, Henry, was diagnosed with a rare genetic variation of Rett syndrome. Most people haven't heard of it. Honestly, before Henry, many doctors hadn't seen it in boys. Usually, it’s a condition that affects girls. For a boy to have it is a statistical anomaly, a "typo" in the genetic code, as Richard often puts it.
Who is Mary Forrest?
While Richard is the face of NBC’s foreign reporting, Mary Forrest is the engine behind the scenes. She was a producer—that’s actually how they met. It was 2010, on the set of The Martha Stewart Show. Richard was a guest. They married in 2015, a quiet civil ceremony in New York City.
Soon after Henry was born, things felt off. Not in a "new parent jitters" kind of way, but something deeper. He wasn't hitting milestones. He wasn't sitting up. Mary has been incredibly candid about this period, describing the diagnosis like a "punch in the stomach." She stepped away from her career to become a full-time caregiver, a job that is basically a 24/7 marathon of physical therapy, medical appointments, and advocating for a child who couldn't speak for himself.
The Heartbreak of 2022
In August 2022, the news hit that no parent should ever have to share. Henry passed away at age six.
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It’s hard to wrap your head around that kind of loss. Richard posted a tribute to Henry’s "softest blue eyes" and "contagious giggle." But even in grief, the couple stayed focused on the bigger picture. They didn't just mourn; they donated Henry’s cells to research. They wanted to make sure his short life served as a roadmap for a cure.
Researchers at Texas Children’s Hospital, led by Dr. Huda Zoghbi, have used those cells to study the MECP2 gene. It’s heavy science, but the gist is this: Henry was unique. Because his mutation was so specific, it provided a "patient zero" perspective for gene-editing treatments.
Richard Engel and Wife: Navigating Life with Theo
Life doesn't stop, even when it feels like it should. In 2019, Richard and Mary welcomed their second son, Theodore (Theo).
Imagine the emotional gymnastics of that situation. You have a newborn who is hitting all his marks—crawling, walking, babbling—while his older brother is regressing. Richard has been open about how "tough" it was to watch a one-year-old Theo physically surpass his four-year-old brother. It’s a bittersweet reality that many "glass child" families or those with special needs siblings understand intimately.
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- Advocacy: They are frequent faces at the Duncan Neurological Research Institute.
- Media Presence: Mary has written moving essays for TODAY.com about the "last goodbye" and the physical toll of caregiving.
- Scientific Hope: In May 2025, Richard wrote about a new gene-editing breakthrough. He admitted he wished Henry could have been the one to benefit, but expressed "nothing but joy" for future families.
The Cost of the Frontline
People often ask how Richard does it. How do you cover a war in Ukraine while your son is in a hospital bed back home?
Basically, he credits Mary. He’s called her the "warrior" of the family. While he was following U.S. troops in South Korea or reporting from Kyiv, Mary was the one doing "spa baths" for Henry, singing songs, and working with flashcards. The pandemic was especially brutal. Lockdown meant no school, no social interaction for Henry, and a "nightmare" of regression.
They’ve used their platform to highlight a massive gap in healthcare: the cost. Richard has acknowledged that his NBC salary allowed them to hire private therapists. Most families don't have that. They're left drowning in paperwork and debt. By speaking out, Richard and Mary have moved the needle on rare disease awareness more than almost any other public figures in recent years.
What We Can Learn from Their Journey
If you’re looking at the lives of Richard Engel and wife Mary Forrest, it’s easy to just see the tragedy. But that misses the point. Their story is actually about resilience and the brutal, honest reality of "perspective."
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When you’ve spent years fighting for your child’s life, the "small stuff" just doesn't matter anymore. Richard says the experience "tore me back to my soul." It forced a hardened war correspondent to reconnect with empathy.
Next Steps for Support and Awareness:
- Educate on Rett Syndrome: Understand that while rare, mutations in the MECP2 gene affect thousands. It's not just a "girls' disease."
- Support Research: Organizations like the International Rett Syndrome Foundation or the Duncan Neurological Research Institute rely on private donations to fund the gene-editing trials Richard writes about.
- Practice Empathy: When you see a parent with a child who seems "different" at a park, don't stare. A simple smile or a "can my kid play with yours?" goes a long way in breaking the isolation these families feel.
- Advocate for Policy: Support legislation that increases funding for rare disease research and provides better home-care resources for caregivers who can't afford private help.
The legacy of Henry Engel lives on through Theo’s laughter and the scientific breakthroughs happening in labs right now. Richard and Mary proved that even when the "typo" in the DNA wins the battle, the story isn't over.