Meredith Vieira is undoubtedly one of the most respected journalists and television
personalities in America.
From her work on TODAY to her long-running co-hosting gig at The View, there's no professional
milestone she hasn't reached.
So why has she seemingly stepped back from public view in recent years?
Here's what Meredith Vieira's been up to.
Vieira and Matt Lauer worked together at NBC for five years, during which time they grew
very close to one another.
So when news of Lauer's firing from the network broke in November 2017, you can only imagine
how Vieira felt.
In September 2019, she recalled to People magazine,
"I was [in L.A.] and my phone started going off at 4 a.m.
I didn't know what to make of all of it.
It was a shock."
Considering Lauer was canned amid allegations of sexual misconduct, it's understandable
why she described the moment as a "gut punch."
Lauer's firing also brought up other complicated feelings for Vieira, as she described to the
outlet, admitting,
"There was totally joking around.
But I never took it as anything.
We were like brother and sister."
It's safe to assume that all of this was a lot for Vieira to reconcile, with such a close
friend being accused of heinous actions.
She went on to say,
"It's so complicated.
The whole thing is just sad.
And it's been rough in a lot of places with a lot of people."
"Eventually this had to happen, and I don't mean particularly to Matt, but just in general."
Vieira likely needed time to sort out these complicated feelings in private.
After the conclusion of the presidential election in November 2016, Vieira revealed that she
was suffering from political anxiety that has discouraged her from appearing on television.
When asked if the election inspired her to return to reporting, Vieira bluntly told Variety,
"Not really.
I didn't want to get back into the fray.
This has been a very difficult election cycle for me, and I'm not talking about because
Donald Trump won.
There was such ugliness that came out.
Almost from day one, there was something dirty about it, and sad about it, and worrisome.
What happened to me is I developed anxiety.
I never binge watch stuff, and I started binge watching things.
I think I was trying to escape it."
Anyone who's paid even the slightest bit of attention to American politics since the 2016
presidential election can tell you that the "ugliness" Vieira mentioned hasn't exactly
died down.
No wonder she wanted to steer clear of it.
When a celebrity pours their heart and soul into a project that doesn't perform well,
egos can tend to get a bit bruised.
When Vieira's daytime talk show, The Meredith Vieira Show, was cancelled in 2016, she probably
needed to take a break from the spotlight to recover.
Although Vieira put a lot of effort into what was supposed to be the pinnacle of her career,
she even mirrored the set after her own living room, the show's ratings were a bit of a disaster.
According to Variety, the market research company Nielsen determined that Vieira's program
was, quote, "the second least-popular of the 15 current syndicated talk shows on the air"
during its second and final season.
Ouch.
"And so I went right to the sauce, source, the sauce, actually I probably did go right
to the sauce but that's not the point."
Considering Vieira hasn't experienced many failures in her professional life, the show's
cancellation and poor ratings likely put her into a bit of a funk.
After The Meredith Vieira Show ended, she left daytime television entirely and hasn't
hosted a talk show since, with the exception of a few guest hosting stints here and there.
Vieira's husband of more than 30 years, fellow journalist Richard Cohen, was diagnosed with
multiple sclerosis in 1973.
Vieira has been vocal about Cohen's difficult illness and how it has affected their marriage.
She told People magazine,
"I feel cheated sometimes.
We used to run together and go on ski trips or go to the beach.
Now, it's very hard for Richard to stand."
As one might imagine, Vieira wants to take advantage of Cohen's health before his chronic
disease progresses even further.
Multiple sclerosis gets worse with age, according to Health Line, and Cohen is 72 years old
as of the making of this video.
Vieira admitted that she left her high-profile job at Today in 2011 so that she could spend
quality time with Cohen before things took a turn for the worse.
She told Good Housekeeping,
"I was more leaving because he's healthy.
So why not while we are able to enjoy life?"
Of course, this diagnosis affects Vieira on a personal level, too.
In September 2019, she told People,
"Certainly he's allowed to vent, because he's got chronic illness.
But I am too.
Because there are days I can't stand it and the limitations it puts on the entire family.
It's good to say it.
But we don't dwell."
"I think we've learned that illness is a family affair."
Although Vieira doesn't let Cohen's health prevent her from appearing on TV, it's probably
fair to say it makes her more choosy when it comes to taking on projects.
Working the daytime television circuit can take a major toll on your health, which is
a reality Vieira knows all too well.
She has admitted that her grueling schedule on Today quickly became detrimental to her
well-being, telling Good Housekeeping,
"Sleep deprivation is a bad thing.
When you're tired all the time, you just don't feel well.
It's easy to gain weight; it's easy to get depressed.
And there's anxiety...All of those things really started to weigh on me, and I thought,
Is it worth risking my health?
I don't think so."
The good news is, Vieira is now taking better care of herself away from the public eye.
She told Parade,
"I try to eat as healthy as I can.
I exercise every day, but I want to avoid hurting something.
I do Pilates and understand the value of strength training and having good balance.
Yoga is good for centering.
I do need to be outside and in nature, because I'm an earth sign."
And when she's not exploring the great outdoors, Vieira is enjoying small pleasures, like walking
her dog around the neighborhood, for example.
Following her departure from Today, she told People,
"I'm looking forward to getting up in the morning and walking in my flip-flops with
our dog Jasper to this incredible little bakery nearby.
I'm looking forward to finding myself again."
It's no secret that Vieira's hectic work schedule made it difficult for her to spend quality
time with Cohen and their three children.
She told HuffPost,
"I was spending very little time focused on my family.
It just stopped feeling right."
"It's all about priorities."
"Right."
"And I knew that my priorities were my family, or my priority was my family."
When Vieira saw an opportunity to relax with her family after leaving Today in 2011, she
took it.
At the time, Vieira explained on the show,
"I've really had a great time, but time is one of those weird things, you can never get
enough of it, and it just keeps ticking away, and I know that I want to spend more of mine
with my husband Richard, and my kids, Ben, Gabe and Lily."
Although Vieira briefly revived her television career in 2014 for her short-lived talk show,
she's now fully committed to "living in the moment" at home with her loved ones.
She told Closer in 2017,
"I see life very much not in a pessimistic or fatalistic way, but more of a live-in-the-moment
way.
It's really about just appreciating where you are and valuing it.
And in that way, every day is great!"
In recent years, Vieira has focused the bulk of her attention on charity work.
In fact, her low-key Twitter presence mostly centers around the causes she supports, such
as Project Sunshine, an organization that meets the "non-medical, social-emotional needs
of children dealing with illnesses," according to the charity's website.
Obviously, supporting great causes takes a lot of time and work behind the scenes.
Vieira told Fresh 102.7 in 2012,
"I've been actually very busy, believe it or not.
Because all the things that I couldn't do when I was doing the Today show, I committed
to...A lot of it is charity work and then suddenly you look at your calendar and everyday
you're doing something.
But it's been wonderful."
While Vieira might be photographed attending a charity luncheon or event here and there,
most of her time these days is probably spent supporting deserving organizations behind
the scenes.
It's common knowledge these days that social media savvy is a must-have when you're a celebrity,
but by the looks of it, Vieira couldn't care less about entertaining fans on platforms
like Twitter and Instagram, at least where it concerns her personal life.
As of early 2020, she hasn't posted anything on Instagram related to her home life since
2014, last sharing a photo of her dog, Jasper, and the same goes for Twitter.
But just because Vieira isn't posting shots of her family on the regular, it doesn't mean
she's opposed to using social media altogether.
The journalist frequently shares videos and snaps related to her career projects, especially
where it concerns her game show, 25 Words or Less.
Or she uses it to promote documentaries she executive produces, like After the Murder
of Albert Lima.
So if you're itching for more behind-the-scenes glimpses into Vieira's life, chances are you'll
be waiting for a long time.
In an interesting turn of events, Vieira stepped down from the national news stage to try her
hand at hosting a game show, Fox's 25 Words or Less.
Although this might seem like a random choice, don't forget Vieira once hosted the weekday
version Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, which she left in 2013.
What's more?
The journalist's skills surprisingly come in handy in this area, as she explained to
The Los Angeles Times, saying,
"I thought what made me an effective host was the fact that I was a journalist, I knew
how to draw contestants out.
I knew how to relax them."
It turns out Vieira is so good at her post-journalism job, Fox Television Stations renewed 25 Words
or Less for Season 2 in November 2019, as Deadline reported.
Translation: Vieira is too busy killing it in the game show department to hold court
with the public.
In addition to her work on 25 Words or Less, Vieira has enjoyed co-hosting at her old stomping
grounds like Today and The View.
And although it seems Vieira is willing to make cameos on her former shows from time
to time, it's clear hosting 25 Words or Less is her main focus.
In 2016, Vieira executive produced the film Tower, a documentary about the first mass
school shooting in the United States.
Although it might surprise some fans that Vieira joined the project given its heavy
tone, she took it on because she wanted to start a conversation about gun control in
America, according to Parade.
"We want to tell the stories of the people that were there, the victims, the survivors,
police, students, the heroes."
What's also interesting about Vieira's work on the doc is that she opted for a behind-the-scenes
role that took her out of the public eye.
Instead of narrating the doc, for example, Vieira chose to give other people involved
with the project a chance to shine.
By the way, if you think she's itching to get back to any of her old jobs, think again.
Vieira told Parade,
"I'd love to do more projects like Tower.
I like different ways of approaching storytelling, and not always with such heavy journalism.
I have a kooky side too.
I'm not ready to commit to one particular thing and sign a contract.
I'm enjoying this time now, and want to see where it all takes me while I'm open to new
things.
I'm very lucky to have the luxury to sit back a little bit and maybe do some traveling."
Vieira made good on this promise when she executive-produced After the Murder of Albert
Lima, a November 2019 documentary about a man seeking justice for his father, who was
killed by gang members in Honduras.
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