Howard Stern reveals WHY he was off-air all last week – and the reason is notorious germaphobe’s worst nightmare

The longtime on-air personality revealed he came down with COVID last week The neurotic shock jock has famously lived in fear of the virus for four years

Howard Stern has finally revealed why he was off the air all last week – with the longtime shock jock telling listeners on Monday that he’d caught COVID-19 for the first time.

The SiriusXM host, 69, is famously a germaphobe and has repeatedly spoken out about his fear of the viral illness since the pandemic began in early 2020 – with his paranoia even leading to heated arguments with his younger wife Beth Stern.

On Monday morning’s show, Stern told listeners that the jury was still out on whether ‘we can get through this show.’

We were supposed to be back last week. We weren’t,’ he said. ‘Because I got COVID-19.’

He told the audience his experience with the virus bore out his previous concerns, saying: ‘I just want to announce something: COVID is really bad.’

‘You do not want COVID.’

The on-air talent has previously been open about how his paranoia surrounding COVID has led to arguments with his wife, Beth Stern.

Several months ago, Stern, 69, recounted an evening of feuding between the two spurred by his neuroses.

‘My wife yelled at me last night. We got into a fight. You know how paranoid I am about getting Covid. I haven’t gotten it, and I’m pretty safe, and I really don’t want to get it,’ he said back in September.

‘Everyone goes, “Don’t worry, it’s just a cold for me,”‘ he said.

He predicted, though, that a case of COVID would hit him harder than the average individual.

‘It’ll probably be way worse. You know what I mean? I mean, I’m the lucky one who will completely fall apart.’

‘My wife’s considerably younger than me, as you might have heard. She’s not as concerned about getting Covid as I am, because, you know, I’m an older dude,’ he added.

He said that he and his wife, who is 18-years his junior, nearly went to sleep angry that night, but he had the good sense to issue an apology before the tension carried over into the morning.

He apologized to his spouse and told her the virus ‘makes me nervous.’

‘I’m neurotic. Listen, I have a lot of issues. I’m a neurotic. You know what a neurotic is?’ Stern said.

‘Beth has a bunch of plans. She has like a wedding shower to go to and lunch to go to with a friend and a dinner and a blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. So, you know, we’re really making an effort. We go out to restaurants.

‘We went to the Ed Sheeran concert. We’ve really been out there. I haven’t gotten COVID. And I’m like, you know what? If I get it, I get it.’

He added that he his wife reprimanded him for always bringing up the virus when she floated plans to him.

‘She goes, “That’s what you do. Every time I say I’m going to do something, you bring up COVID.'”

He said that told her he is only ever trying to express his fear: ‘I’m just telling you, I’m scared,’ he said. ‘Am I wrong?’