Find Out About Deborah Roberts and His First Marriage Hollywood Life

Al Roker, 69, is best known for his longtime career as a weather and news anchor on TODAY, but he’s also had a long and successful marriage with Deborah Roberts since 1995. The beloved star, who was recently in the news for being hospitalized for blood clots, has sometimes shared details about his family life on the air and in interviews, so many of his fans know some details. He’s also been married once before Deborah in the 1980s and 1990s.

In addition to being an anchor on TODAY, many people also adore Al for his coverage of the annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2022, he missed the parade for the first time in 27 years as he recovered from health issues due to complications with blood clots. Luckily, the anchor will return for the 2023 parade, and his comeback is certainly welcome.

As America’s Weatherman continued on his health journey, Deborah was by his side. “It’s been a tough slog, I’m not gonna deny this,” Al said during a December 12, 2022, appearance on TODAY, his first time on the show following the blood clot health scare. “It’s been the hardest one yet, and you know I’ve had my share of surgeries.”

In May 2023, Al also revealed he underwent “total knee replacement surgery.” He was in good spirits when talking about it on TODAY. “It’s stiff,” he said of his knee. “[The surgery] was a little more complicated. It was called a revision – it was a replacement of a replacement. So they had to go in and take stuff out, put new stuff in.” He also said his recovery consisted of “three days a week of physical rehab. That’ll go on for a few months. I still don’t know – maybe sometime in the next two weeks, I’ll be back.” He returned to TODAY on May 30, 2023.

Find out more about Al’s first and second marriages below.

Alice Bell

Al’s first wife was Alice Bell. They were married in 1984 and they welcomed a daughter, Courtney, in 1987. By 1992, they had separated and not much else is known about the time they spent together.

Deborah Roberts

Al met Deborah Roberts in 1990, when, like him, she was a correspondent on NBC’s TODAY, People reported. Deborah told the outlet that her future husband was “so sweet” when they got to know each other and he “showed me pictures of his daughter and talked about his family.” Deborah was transferred to Miami but kept in touch with friend Al via email, and by the time she returned to New York City, NY, where TODAY was filmed, Al had split from his first wife. They then reconnected and started a friendship once again.

“He was a nice guy but kind of annoying, overly chatty. I just didn’t think of him beyond a friend,” she said. Eventually, the two became more than just friends after Al looked over her apartment when she had to take a trip to Barcelona, Spain to cover the 1992 Olympics. He restocked her cabinets and fridge and left a sweet “Welcome Home” note and flowers for her for when she returned. It was a week later that they had their first date and it led to a romance.

The lovebirds got engaged in 1994, after Al proposed in the Grand Canyon and they married at St. Thomas Church in NYC a year later. They welcomed two children, including daughter Leila, born in 1998, and son Nick, born in 2002, and Al previously opened up about the joys of having more children as well as the sacrifices it brought. “When we had Leila, it became a difficult point in our marriage because I was already working mornings, and ABC came to her and said, ‘We’d like you to do the newsperson’s job on Good Morning America,'” he told TODAY in 2016. Deborah ended up turning down the job she had “dreamed about.”

“Deborah decided to step back. Her career suffered some for it. You always feel guilty about that,” Al continued before Deborah added, “That deep down in my heart of hearts I have felt at times that I have sacrificed more, but I think also he’s also listened to me, too, and tried to feel a little bit of my pain.”

Al and Deborah celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary in 2020 and still remain strongly bonded. In 2021, Deborah gushed over her longtime husband. “I try to learn from Al every day. I’m willing to say sorry,” she told PEOPLE in 2021. “I think we’re learning to not only talk to each other, but to just keep giving each other the benefit of the doubt, and I think that’s huge.”

“I love this man. I love us,” she added. “I love us and I’m determined to cheer us and to be there for us and to make us work and to make us a priority.”

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