After their harrowing time as COVID-19 patients, Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks received one of the greatest news of their lives -- especially since it is something that they have been wanting.

The Hanks are now both officially Greek citizens, as CNN reported. In the social media post of none other than Greece's prime minister, Tom and Rita can be seen proudly holding up their shiny, new passports. The two beamed up to the camera, knowing full well that they have a special reason to celebrate this week despite the hardships they have undergone the past few months dealing with a deadly virus within their bodies.

Last year, the couple and their children became honorary Greek citizens after they played a crucial role in raising awareness about the 2018 fires that ravaged areas near Athens, killing over 100 people. Tom was not a citizen then, but his care and attention brought the issue in the global media, garnering the aid and support that was much needed.

"Tom Hanks is a person who showed real interest in the people who suffered from the fire in Mati and promoted this issue in the global media," Greek Interior Minister Takis Theodorikakos shared to CNN in a statement in December.

Wilson is born part Greek while Hanks is a Greek Orthodox convert. They own a property at the island of Antiparos and occasionally vacation in Greece. They also produced several movie projects based on the Greek community, and they never hid their admiration and love for Greece and the Greeks. Earlier this year, Hanks announced that for him, no other country can compete with Greece in terms of beauty.

"I've been Hellenic now for the better part of 32 years," Hanks revealed to the reporters at the 2020 Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. "Greece is a haven... I've been around the world, I've been to the most beautiful places in the world, none of them tops Greece."

He added that the place can heal and is good for the soul.

Maybe a complete healing is just what Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, and their whole family need. They had such a rough year after all, with both Hanks and Wilson testing positive for the COVID-19 and having undergone all the nasty symptoms associated with it. They had different symptoms from each other, but both suffered quite some.

According to Rita, after all the difficulties she experienced with that virus, her outlook in life changed totally. She said that priorities were brought to the surface and she stopped taking things for granted. Post-recovery was a reflective time from the whole family and she is beyond grateful to have recovered.

Wilson was relieved beyond compare because she knew full well that things could have gotten so much worse -- she could have died, Hanks could have died, or both of them could have died!

There are also days when she was still very ill with the coronavirus that she would feel a bit better and then her conditions would plummet. With that said, she realized that she cannot control everything and just rely on having a very strong faith.

Tags
Tom hanks, Rita Wilson, COVID-19