Vicky Cornell says she and her children are “keeping Chris alive in our house,” 5 years after his death

Tara Ziemba/Getty Chris and Vicky Cornell

Vicky Cornell, with the help of her children, keeps the memory of her late husband Chris Cornell alive in their home.

The widow and mother of three told Gayle King about her concerns when she called SiriusXM. Gayle King in the house on Thursday night, explaining her family’s desire to continue to honor the late Soundgarden frontman.

“Let’s talk about our loved ones. Let’s talk about them every day,” Cornell said. “And for me and my children, the most important thing was to keep Chris alive in our home. So we talked about him every day.”

RELATED: Vicky Cornell honors her late husband Chris on fifth death anniversary: ​​’Forever and ever’

Cornell, who lost her husband to suicide in May 2017, spoke at length about the stigma associated with suicide, saying that the question of what caused suicide should not matter. Instead, we need to consider how to prevent it, she explained.

“The cause is important because anyone can get to the bottom of it. We don’t just hear, ‘Oh, they died of some disease.’ It’s like, ‘Oh, cancer.’ And then you can say, ‘Okay, what kind of cancer?’ And I think that with our loved ones, especially when it comes to suicide, it can’t just be, ‘Oh, they died by suicide. They took their own life.’ OK, but why? What happened? How can we prevent it? And I think that’s a really big part of prevention.”

RELATED: Chris Cornell’s family releases his cover album 3 years after his death: ‘This moment is bittersweet’

Recalling the moments when she learned of Chris’ death, Vicky told King that it felt “like a tsunami” because it was “not on her radar” that it could happen.

“It wasn’t in any way like I was thinking, ‘Oh, we have to deal with this.’ Chris wasn’t suicidal and wasn’t even depressed,” she said. “Chris was on the road to recovery and had been taking benzodiazepines. But when I look back, not even in that moment did anything feel like it was … impossible. It came out of nowhere.”

Kevin Mazur/Getty The Cornell family

Together, Chris and Vicky have daughter Toni (17) and son Christopher (16). In 2020, ahead of World Mental Health Day, Toni announced that she and her brother Christopher had started their podcast. Stop the Stigma: Fighting the Stigma of Addiction Through Education.

Don’t miss a story – sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Her first guest on the show was Dr. Nora Volkow, scientist and director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health, and the rock icon’s daughter was eager to educate listeners about the effects of addiction.

“I want listeners to learn about addiction as a disease,” Toni told PEOPLE. “We seem to worry about all of our organs except our brains. We often neglect the fact that our brains are affected by genetic and environmental factors, as well as substance use or abuse, including the short- and long-term effects of alcoholism.”

Later in July, the teenager paid tribute to her father as the musician celebrated his 58th birthday by sharing a video of herself singing Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie” to him. Her caption: “Happy birthday to the most amazing dad and incredible human being whose life continues to leave an incredible mark on everyone he touches.”

“Today, on your birthday, I think so many join me in saying we miss you MOST,” Toni wrote. “The world wouldn’t be the same without you and will never be the same when you’re gone. You wrote the soundtrack to not just our lives, but to the lives of millions, and we will listen to it forever.”