Ricki Lake will always be able to keep a piece of the home destroyed by the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires close to his heart.
“So, here I am at the bottom of the hill where I lived before my house burned down,” Lake, 57, began in a Saturday, March 14, Instagram video. “Today is an exciting and emotional day [because] this company, Eterneva, created a diamond from the ashes of my home.”
Lake property was devastated by the wildfires that swept through southern California in January 2025. (The natural disaster wiped out thousands of acres, killed at least 31 people and destroyed a reported 18,000 homes and buildings.)
“John Bonny … he was the shepherd of my possessions and my house and the construction of my first house,” Lake recalled Saturday. When Eterneva came to me, John was the one who found the actual ashes and brought them to her. [the company].”
Bonny, for her part, revealed that she first picked up trash from the main gate to symbolize “entering the house.”
“It was always, like, 'The gates are always open,'” Lake told. “Ricki's house and philosophy was always open to friends and family. A Christian [Evans, her late ex-husband] when you start to find a home again Ross [Burningham, her husband] now.”
Bonny also collected an ash sample from a tool shed on the grounds and near a tree near the “ceremonial circle” where Evans' ashes were buried. (Lake was married to jewelry designer Evans from 2012 to 2015. She died two years later at age 46.)
“Having something so beautiful created from something so painful is a great lesson in life,” Lake admitted about the sparkler. “It was just perfect [and] poetic. Thank you, I will wear this with great respect and pride and joy.”
Eterneva gathered the ashes and placed them on a pale green diamond on a base and gold chain.
“Green is the heart chakra,” Lake explained of the design. “I had an idea to put a phoenix [illustration] on the back, and it has the date of the fire: January 7. It's just a reminder of how far I've come.”
In his Instagram comments, Lake called the diamond “one of the most poetic and captivating gifts” he's ever received.
“Everything from where the ash comes from, the science behind it and the finishing touches represent my experience,” he wrote. “[It is] proof that something good can come from tragedy and sadness. Home is where the heart is.”
