A FRIEND of Ralph Cirella has spoken out after the Howard Stern contributor tragically died on Tuesday.

Cirella, 58, was a close friend of the iconic broadcaster and started working as his stylist before creating a close friendship.

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Howard Stern Show contributor and set designer Ralph Cirella died on Tuesday after complications with a cancer treatmentCredit: The Howard Stern Show

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Cirella was a close friend of Stern’s and started as the shock jock’s personal stylistCredit: X/HowardStern

Radio host Joe Antonio told The U.S. Sun he created a friendship over social media with Cirella for the past two yearsCredit: instagram/thejoeantonioshow
He was promoted to wardrobe consultant on The Howard Stern Show and eventually set designer.

Stern revealed on-air during Wednesday’s episode of his longstanding radio show that Cirella had died during a routine treatment process for a “rare” form of lymphoma.

The shock jock said that Cirella’s “heart gave out.”

The 58-year-old became a frequent caller and guest on the radio show over the past few years, something DJ and online friend Joe Antonio said was a direct result of the “rare bond” between the shock jock and Cirella.

In an exclusive conversation with The U.S. Sun, Antonio explained that the pair met through Instagram, exchanging direct messages, forming a fast friendship through humor on celebrities and movies.

“I think we friended each other on — I friended him on Instagram and he would post some really funny stuff about just, he was always about celebrities and movies,” Antonio explained.

“I would always reply back to his stories, and then we just all of a sudden started just sending direct messages to each other.”

The DJ noted that he and Cirella maintained their back-and-forth friendship on social media for about two years, joking about “celebrity drama” and the media industry.

“So, we got along on that aspect,” he told The U.S. Sun.

Antonio added that it was great to hear Cirella’s perspective on happenings in entertainment for his own podcast and radio program, The Joe Antonio Show.

“You know, I run my own radio show and it’s funny just to hear his take on it,” he noted.

Antonio hailed the 58-year-old as a “ball of fun” and “straight shooter,” making him a “one-of-a-kind person” who never held his thoughts and opinions back.

“He was a loose cannon with his mouth but he spoke the truth,” the DJ said.

He also recalled the first time witnessing Cirella on The Howard Stern Show getting “yelled” at by the shock jock and immediately became interested.

‘TAKEN ABACK’

The bond between the pair was palpable, according to Antonio.

“It’s just the back-and-forth banter with them — you could just tell that they were really tight — the way they talked,” he told The U.S. Sun.

Even with his keen interest in The Howard Stern Show, which Antonio noted as the direct inspiration for his podcast, and his online relationship with Cirella, the pair never met in person.

The DJ attributed the lack of a meetup before the 58-year-old’s death to the supposedly “recluse” behavior he often had.

“I mean he was like one of those guys who would never leave his house,” Antonio said.

According to him, the last time the pair spoke was in October, discussing Brittney Spears’s videos where she was seen dancing with a knife.

Antonio said he was “taken aback” by the news of Cirella’s death and never knew he was struggling with his health, noting it was likely a very “private” matter for The Howard Stern Show contributor.

“It seems like he could have hidden his illness so he didn’t draw attention to himself,” the DJ said.

“I think he was just trying to make sure that people weren’t going to worry about him.”

He continued: “That’s the type of person that he was in my interactions with him.”

‘DEAR FRIEND’

Antonio noted that as a longtime fan of The Howard Stern Show, it was clear during Wednesday’s airing when Stern detailed that he was “taking it very hard” just how close the shock jock and Cirella were over the past three decades as friends and colleagues.

“Howard’s one of those people that doesn’t open up to many people,” Antonio told The U.S. Sun.

“He even mentioned that on the show [Wednesday]. So for somebody like Ralph to kind of pull on his heartstrings just goes to show how good of a person he was … you know, [he] helped Howard a lot throughout his career.”

The shock jock’s emotional statements about Cirella on The Howard Stern Show aligned with much of Antonio’s perception of the bond between the two.

“He loved me,” Stern said of his friend.

“Ralph was a trustworthy, dear friend who made me laugh every time I was with him.”

The broadcaster added: “I just have been so sad and so angry.”

“[Cirella] didn’t take care of himself.”

Stern said he spoke with Cirella the night before his death, saying he was hopeful the 58-year-old would survive his “curable and treatable” cancer.

HELPING HAND

Cirella was also a close friend of John Stamos and the late Bob Saget.

Stamos took to Instagram after the announcement, writing, “At the painfully young age of 58, my dear friend, Ralph Cirella, was suddenly taken from us, leaving us all in a state of profound shock.”

Saget and Cirella knew each other through an autoimmune disease that their sisters shared called Scleroderma.

After Saget’s death on January 9, 2022, Cirella broke down on The Howard Stern Show, explaining that the Full House star helped set his sister up with a doctor on the cutting edge of the disease at Johns Hopkins.

“Sorry, sorry… He personally hooked up my sister with this guy at Johns Hopkins. My sister’s a mess, you know. He saved her life…” Cirella recalled during an airing of the show two days after Saget’s death was announced.

Cirella broke down several times, calling Saget the “nicest guy.”

Saget died at the age of 65 from blunt head trauma at a hotel in Orlando, Florida.

The Orange County Sheriff’s Office told The U.S. Sun at the time of his death that they believed Saget accidentally struck his head on something in his room and fell asleep before realizing how significant the internal damage was.

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Cirella was often seen on The Howard Stern Show or heard calling in during airingsCredit: Getty

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The stylist and set designer was also close with John Stamos and Bob SagetCredit: Getty