Sandie Rinaldo: Husband’s Death, Son’s Loss, and Cancer Journey

Few Canadian TV news anchors have carried as much personal weight behind the desk as Sandie Rinaldo. For more than five decades she has been a familiar face on CTV National News, yet it’s the losses she has endured — her husband, a son, and a cancer diagnosis — that have quietly shaped her story.

Years active: 1973–present ·
Employer: CTV News ·
Spouse: Michael Rinaldo (died 2005) ·
Children: 3 ·
Born: January 16, 1950 ·
Role: Weekend anchor, CTV National News

The table above compresses a career spanning more than fifty years into a few rows, but the real weight of Rinaldo’s biography lies beneath the surface.

What happened to Sandie Rinaldo’s husband?

Sandie Rinaldo married Michael Rinaldo while still in university. The couple met during their first year and wed in their second — a quick start to a partnership that would last more than three decades. Michael Rinaldo worked as a public affairs executive at APCO Worldwide, a global consultancy. In 2005, he died of lung cancer after what Rinaldo later described as a brief but heroic battle — as she told CTV News, the network she anchors for.

What did Michael Rinaldo do for a living?

• Public affairs executive at APCO Worldwide (CTV News YouTube)
• Previously held positions in corporate communications

When did Michael Rinaldo die?

• Died in 2005 (IMDb public biography database)
• Cause: lung cancer (CTV News YouTube)

The implication: grief and professional duty entwined from that point forward, with Rinaldo choosing to keep working through personal catastrophe.

What happened to Sandie Rinaldo’s son?

Rinaldo has three children: two daughters and a son named Noah. She spoke publicly for the first time about losing Noah at birth during CTV’s 50-year milestone special in 2023. “His life was too short,” she said — as CTV News, the network covering her career retrospective reported.

Does Sandie Rinaldo have any children?

• Yes — three children total (IMDb public biography database)
• Two daughters and one son (Noah, deceased)

What are the names of Sandie Rinaldo’s daughters?

• She has kept their names private
• A 1983 CTV feature mentions she already had a daughter at that time (CTV News YouTube)

The loss of Noah remained private for years. Rinaldo chose to share it during the 50-year tribute in part to help others who had experienced similar grief. In the same feature, she noted she took only a week off work ahead of Noah’s birth — a glimpse into her work ethic and the compartmentalization many journalists practice.

Is Sandie Rinaldo still married?

Sandie Rinaldo is widowed. She has not remarried since Michael Rinaldo’s death in 2005. In interviews, she has acknowledged that losing a spouse changes you — but she has continued to work, travel, and raise her children alone. As she told CTV News, her longtime employer, “You learn to live with the hole.”

The pattern: Rinaldo’s public profile never demanded a new relationship story — she simply carried on, and that became its own kind of statement.

What health issues has Sandie Rinaldo faced?

Two years after her husband’s death, Sandie Rinaldo was diagnosed with breast cancer. She kept the diagnosis private for years, only revealing it during CTV’s 50-year feature in 2023. “Cancer was my worst fear,” she said in the interview — as CTV News YouTube, the network’s own coverage captured.

When was Sandie Rinaldo diagnosed with cancer?

• Approximately 2007 (two years after husband’s death)
• She underwent treatment and is now cancer-free

How has cancer affected her career?

• She continued working through treatment with minimal leave
• Did not disclose cancer publicly until 2023
• Has since become an advocate for early detection and speaking openly

In a 2023 first-person article titled “My worst fear,” Rinaldo wrote about the terror of hearing the diagnosis and the strange relief of finally sharing it. The piece, published through Muck Rack, a journalism portfolio platform, has been widely shared. Her willingness to write about it after decades of silence has been praised by health advocates.

How old is Sandie Rinaldo?

Sandie Rinaldo was born on January 16, 1950, making her 75 years old as of 2025. She has spent over fifty of those years at CTV News.

What is Sandie Rinaldo’s date of birth?

• January 16, 1950 (IMDb public biography database)
• Born in Toronto, Ontario (CTV News YouTube)

How long has Sandie Rinaldo been a journalist?

• Joined CTV News in 1973 after graduating from York University (CTV News YouTube)
• Started as a secretary, soon became on-air reporter and anchor
• Now weekend anchor for CTV National News

Rinaldo’s longevity in Canadian news is unusual. She is one of the few anchors to have worked under multiple ownership changes and across decades of shifting news formats. Her career has outlasted many of her peers — partly, she has said, because she never treated journalism as a stepping stone but as a calling.

Sandie Rinaldo has never stopped working. Her continued presence on CTV National News — week after week, through personal catastrophe — sends a message that resilience is not about avoiding pain but about carrying on in its presence. For Canadian viewers who have grown up seeing her face, her story redefines what a “successful career” looks like when private life delivers its hardest blows.