Melissa Rivers knows better than anyone that Joan Rivers is, in a word, irreplaceable.
"I was part of a comedy team. I was the straight man. And now I'm a solo act. That's the hard part. I'm trying to find my voice," she told AARP The Magazine.
"I'm still in that deification phase. You miss even the s--ttiest things: I miss when she'd come in and rearrange my furniture and tell me how I ran my house wrong and criticize everything. I miss the criticism! I'm still in that phase."
Melissa also shared with the magazine who rushed by her side the most following the tragic death of her mother last fall.
"A number of people really surprised me. My boyfriend is one. I'd never seen him as someone dependable and strong and who gave a crap. He said he'd never seen me defenseless and didn't want to see me that way again."
She continued, "As any therapist will tell you, probably not the best time to get into a relationship! But we figure it can't get any worse."
And even though some may have questioned it at the time, Melissa reiterated that making the decision to take her mother off of life support was the right, albeit difficult one.
"She had a living will and an advance directive that was very specific," she explained.
"My mother's definition of quality of life was having all her faculties and being able to go on stage for one hour and, here was the kicker, be funny. As hard as it was, I knew it was the right decision."