Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Ricki Lake Credit Podcast Host Ryan Weiss for Helping Them During the 'Hardest' Periods of Their Life

Ryan Weiss' famous pals, including Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Ricki Lake, credit him for helping them heal during their darkest moments.

"One of the biggest things Ryan ever taught me is that pain is part of being human. None of us escape it, but suffering comes from the story we tell ourselves about our pain. That's what keeps us stuck. Ryan taught me that we have the power to rewrite that story — when you change the meaning of what happened to you, everything changes. I can look back now at the hardest experiences of my life and honestly say they also brought the greatest beauty and the biggest lessons. I never would've seen them that way without doing this work," the actress, 45, who was diagnosed with relapsing multiple sclerosis (MS) at age 20 while filming The Sopranos, exclusively told OK! at the NYC launch event for iHeartMedia's new show "Waking Up with Ryan" — a daily podcast built to change how you begin your day — at The Lighthouse Campus in Brooklyn on June 17.

The event brought together Lake, Sigler, Danielle Robay and Weiss as they shared their own transformation and healing journeys — and what it truly means to wake up to ourselves.

"The first thing that comes to mind is when I lost my husband. After he died by suicide...I honestly didn't know how I was going to keep going. I wasn't suicidal myself, but I was deeply depressed. I felt incredibly lonely. Even though I had people supporting me, grief can still feel unbelievably isolating. This was before I met Ryan. My husband died in February of 2017. After that, I went on what I really think of as a pilgrimage to heal. I was trying to understand why something like that had happened. At the time, I had my dog, Mama. She needed me. I had to take care of her. I had to walk her every single day. I lived in Marina del Rey then. Every day I'd take her outside, and I'd literally force myself to smile at the sun. I'd have tears streaming down my face, but I'd make myself smile. I'd try to think of just one thing I could be grateful for. Anything. That practice... Just putting one foot in front of the other, finding gratitude, even while I was crying... Over time, it became easier. People always say time heals. Maybe that's true. But I think what really healed me was continuing to move, continuing to look for gratitude, continuing to choose life, even when I didn't feel like it. It was an incredibly lonely season, but eventually, the light came back," the TV host, 57, shared.

iHeartPodcasts, the No. 1 podcast publisher globally, in partnership with The Lighthouse, announced a daily video podcast hosted by coach Weiss, who is a coach and guide who has worked with creatives, founders and public figures, premiering July 7.

Weiss and Sigler crossed paths frequently in Hollywood, forging a close friendship that has stood the test of time.

"Jamie was really the first person who pulled me out of a really lost place after my career kind of fell apart. She was the person who said, 'You're going to help me. You're working with me.' I was really hesitant because I knew her from when I worked with her agent at WME a million years ago," he said.

"So, Jamie was the one who just saw something in me and said, 'I need your help.' That's really what launched my career in something I never thought would become a career, which is essentially helping people remember who they are through really difficult life journeys. Helping people recognize that those really hard things we've been through are there for a reason. Most people visit those places and hate them and then miss the gift because of those experiences. If you can learn to feel your feelings, there's so much healing that can happen. Jamie was the person who said, 'You're doing this for me.' So that's how Jamie is here," he continued.

As for Lake, they met at Burning Man, a week-long, large-scale arts and community event held annually in Nevada's remote Black Rock Desert.

"We immediately fell in love with each other as friends. We have so much in common. Just like Jamie, we're spiritual running buddies... soul sisters. Everything we talk about is always so real and so deep. Ricki has been one of the biggest miracles in my life. She's actually the reason we found our surrogate for our daughter. The miracles these people have brought into my life... So when I was thinking about who I wanted to do this event with, they were the first people I thought of. I asked them, 'Would you possibly be willing to come?' And they immediately said yes. Then Danielle Robay — she's been so generous to come host tonight. If you don't know her yet, she's a major rising star. I really believe she's one of the great interviewers of our generation. We're really blessed to have her," he shared.

The event only scratched the surface of what listeners can expect.

"Each weekday episode (Monday – Friday, roughly ten minutes) centers on a single idea and a guided practice set to music—designed not to be heard and forgotten by lunch, but to be felt in the body and carried into the day. Every other week, the show widens into a long-form conversation with public figures, teachers, and artists about what awakening means to them, and the human experience beneath the public identity," the press release reveals.

"I think people underestimate what just a few minutes each morning can do. A couple of intentional minutes can completely shift your energy, your perspective, eventually, your life. That's really how all of this started for me. Just a few minutes every single morning," Sigler noted.

In addition to Lake and Sigler, other celebrities will join Weiss for a transforming and life-changing episode, including Sophia Bush, Edgar Ramírez, LeAnn Rimes, Scooter Braun, Stacy London, and more.

Listen to the debut episode now, HERE.