Wedding preparations for E! News host Maria Menounos have stalled as she focuses on her mother's health.
The American entertainment personality revealed in August her mother Litsa was diagnosed with a brain tumour and was starting treatment.
With a hectic schedule for E! News and travelling to Australia for the Melbourne Cup carnival, Menounos was feeling the separation.
"I just miss her so much, I've been gone for two weeks," she told AAP on Saturday, fighting back tears.
She says wedding preparations will resume when the time is right.
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"We're just trying to get past this crazy, crazy twist God has thrown at us," she said.
Menounos, 38, became engaged to her partner of 18 years in March.
Her fiance, Keven Undergaro, proposed while Menounos was being interviewed on the Howard Stern radio show.
Menounos was a huge drawcard at the Mumm marquee on Saturday, but rather than sip on champagne all day, she was hard at work interviewing celebrities for the show.
An entertainment journalist for years, Menounos actually got her start in hard news, even interviewing former US president George W. Bush.
Surprisingly, Menounous finds celebrity interviews to be more daunting.
"Sometimes it might be a little easier to interview them (presidents) because with celebrities, they're generally promoting something and they want to speak about that, and you know our job is to really talk about personal stuff and it's not as fun for them," she said.
Menounous will return to the races on Tuesday for the Melbourne Cup.
