Al Roker and his wife, Deborah Roberts, are celebrating another year of wedded bliss! The 69-year-old Today weatherman and the 62-year-old journalist took to Instagram to observe their 28th wedding anniversary on Saturday, sharing images from their special day and nearly 30 years of marriage with their fans.
Roker shared a gallery of photos that begins with a snapshot from the pair’s Sept. 16, 1995 wedding, showing the newlyweds beaming into the camera. The carousel also includes a photo of the two eating their wedding cake, a family photo of the couple’s three children — Leila, 24, Nicholas, 21, and Courtney, 35, Roker’s daughter with ex-wife Alice Bell, — a portrait of Roker and Roberts with then-President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and ends with a sweet snapshot of the Roker family posed altogether outside their home in matching green pajamas.
“28 years ago, @debrobertsabc promised to be there for better, for worse, thick and thin. Good times and Bad. But the greatest gift is the family she has given me. Happy Anniversary, sweetheart,” Roker captioned his Instagram post.
Roberts shared a similar set of photos that included shots from the couple’s vow renewal ceremonies, their vacations and photos with their children.
“Wow! It’s been 28 years. Beginning with a few jitters, great excitement and hearts brimming with hope, we embarked on this journey,” she captioned her picture gallery. “And it has been one great adventure. This last year has taught us to cherish each moment. You are mine….I am yours. And where you are, I am too. Happy anniversary my dearest. Let’s keep making memories @alroker #happyanniversary #love #forever.”
The couple have gone through a lot over their 28 years of marriage, including Roker’s frightful battle with prostate cancer. In November 2020, just a few months after celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary, Roker revealed his diagnosis on Today, sharing that he was lucky enough to catch the cancer early.
At the time, he shared that Roberts was not at the appointment when he was diagnosed. “I feel badly because I didn’t tell Deborah to come with me,” he noted. “In hindsight, boy I wish I’d told her to come. …She was upset. And once she got past that, the reporter in her kinda took over. And then she’s been at everything ever since.”
Later that month, Roker underwent surgery with his wife by his side. “Let the healing begin. I am so in awe of this guy and his indomitable spirit. So blessed and grateful for avalanche of love, prayers and support for @alroker #gratitude,” Roberts wrote on Instagram.
After the surgery, Roker announced that he was cancer-free. “It was this great relief,” he said on Today. “For a first start, this is terrific news. I’m going to be up for — and a lot of people who live with cancer — up for lifelong testing to make sure this doesn’t come back.”
In November 2022, Roker faced another health battle when he was hospitalized for blood clots in his legs and lungs. Roberts was again by his side. Roker was later released from the hospital but ended up being readmitted just after Thanksgiving. After a few more weeks in the hospital, he was able to go home and be with his family for Christmas.
After more than two months away from the morning show, Roker made his triumphant return to the Today show on Jan. 6, when he and Roberts revealed he was “very, very, very sick” and that his mere presence in the studio was major because he proved to be “a living, breathing miracle.”
“My heart is just bursting. I’m just so thrilled to see all of you and all of the crew and everybody. Right now I’m running on adrenaline and I’m just thrilled to be here,” Roker told his co-hosts at the time.
Holding her husband’s hand tightly, Roberts revealed, “It’s not lost on us that this is a major, major thing for Al to be here. He is a living, breathing miracle. He really is…. Al was a very, very, very sick man and I think most people don’t know that.”
Roberts went on to note that Roker was “a medical mystery for a couple of weeks,” adding that it was “the most tumultuous, frightening journey we have ever been on.”
Roberts recalled the emotional moment when she knew her husband was going to be OK.
“He was so gaunt and exhausted. He said, ‘I’m going to make a spatchcock turkey for Christmas.’ And I didn’t know whether to burst into tears or just to beam,” Roberts said. “That was the moment for me, and it will always be the moment for me… I’m sitting here hoping he’s going to make it to Christmas and here he is talking about making a turkey for Christmas.”
Three months after his return to the Today show, Roberts told ET that Roker was back to his old self.
“He’s back to driving me crazy,” she quipped.
That she can joke about it now is a testament to how far they’ve come since Roker’s serious health scares. But he was hardly alone in this fight. Roberts fully embraced the role of caregiver, never mind that she didn’t come away from the daunting role unscathed.
“I think a lot of people don’t realize that — and I never realized that — that being a caregiver is really taxing, exhausting, frightening, all of those things and I never went through anything like this,” she told ET. “And I hope I’ll never do it again. But it’s tough. It’s tough. I’m still kind of, I think, recuperating. I’m still kind of tired. I’m still mentally exhausted, but you know what, I’m grateful and just trying to just bask in the moment and just be happy that he’s well, and we’re all well.”
Roker celebrated his 69th birthday in August, during which he took to Instagram to tell fans he’s feeling “grateful” after a year filled with health complications.
“To all of you who sent good wishes and well wishes over this past year, God bless you. Thank you so much, I appreciate it,” the beloved Today host said in the video before offering shout-outs to his Start Today and Today show family.
“And, of course, my family,” he continued, referencing Roberts, daughters Leila Roker and Courtney Roker Laga, and son Nick Roker. “A lot to be grateful for on this birthday. Glad to be alive,” he concluded.
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