Who Is Al Roker's Wife, Deborah Roberts? All About Their Marriage and Kids

Al Roker is someone who has been a well-loved face on the Today show for close to three decades . As the NBC daytime series' resident weatherman and a news anchor, he loves to keep up with current events and let viewers know what they can expect each day before leaving their homes. But as it turns out, he's not just handling the news on TV. He lives and breathes the world of journalism on a daily basis, thanks to being married to another journalist himself.

Al's love story with ABC journalist Deborah Roberts begins back in 1990, when Deborah joined NBC News as a general assignment reporter. At the time, Al had split from his then-wife (with whom he adopted daughter Courtney Roker Laga ) and later explained on The Kelly Clarkson Show in February 2021 how he and Deborah were in the "friend zone" for some time. They were so platonic, it got to the point of Deborah asking Al to take care of her apartment while she went away and he found quite an interesting surprise.

"I had to snoop around," Al said at the time. "I was in the kitchen, and I open up the fridge, and there's nothing. ... There's nothing in the fridge, like some old cheese, a bottle of Grey Poupon mustard, that's about it. A day before she got back from her trip, I stocked her pantry, I stocked her refrigerator and left some flowers on the table and a note, 'Welcome home.' And then I got my first date with her a week later."

Although Al and Deborah managed to go on a date, nothing really came of it at the time. They kept in touch for two years, as Deborah had been transferred to both Miami and Atlanta for work. But when she came back to New York to become a correspondent for Dateline in 1992, the two eventually decided to give their romance a real shot.

Al eventually proposed to Deborah at the Grand Canyon on New Year's Day 1994, and on September 16, 1995 , the two wed at the St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York. What's more, their reception at Essex House featured a number of notable celebrities, including Barbara Walters Katie Couric .

The same year the two were married, Deborah moved to ABC News to become a correspondent for 20/20. Today, she is the co-anchor of 20/20 along with David Muir. She is also a substitute anchor for GMA and a guest co-host on The View , according to her ABC biography .

Al and Deborah welcomed their daughter Leila Ruth in November 1998, after experiencing fertility struggles and opting for IVF. Their son was born in July 2002.

But as they celebrated parenthood, Deborah also made a career sacrifice by stepping back from her job to take care of Leila. "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,'" Al said on the Today show in January 2016. "Deborah decided to step back. Her career suffered some for it. You always feel guilty about that."

September 2024 marked the couple's 29th wedding anniversary , and Al went on Instagram to pay tribute to Deborah and express his gratitude to her for being by his side during everything they've endured over the years.

"Well, 29 years [went] by pretty fast. Not sure would agree," he wrote in the caption. "Happy anniversary to an amazing wife, friend, mom, journalist and incredible life partner who made sure I survived my crisis a year and a half ago. Though I'm sure I give her pause to reconsider that from time to time. Thanks for not pulling the plug. I love you."

As he referred to in the post, Al has experienced a number of health struggles. He underwent gastric bypass surgery in 2002, where he lost 160 pounds. He also went through knee replacement surgery in October 2016, emergency carpal tunnel surgery in October 2018, hip replacement surgery in September 2019 and shoulder surgery in August 2020.

But the most significant health setback affecting Al and Deborah's marriage started in November 2020, when Al revealed he'd been diagnosed with prostate cancer. Thankfully the doctors caught it early, and he was able to undergo surgery for it and become cancer free. But in November 2022, Al went on leave from Today after being hospitalized for blood clots in his leg and lungs. During his time off the air , Deborah stayed by his side during this intense time in their lives.

"Al is a living breathing miracle," Deborah told Today in January 2023. "Al was a very, very, very sick man, and I think most people did not know that ... It was the most tumultuous, frightening journey we have ever been on."

"What Deborah did for me was ... I had no idea how bad off I was," Al added in the same interview. "I thought I was doing pretty good."

Thankfully, Al recovered and is doing great. And just like his health, his marriage to Deborah is going strong too.