Today show host Matt Lauer was one of the most famous faces in morning news until his
shocking termination over sexual misconduct allegations in November 2017.
So what happened to this once powerful journalist who used to greet viewers on their TV screens
every morning?
Here are some details that have come out about the sketchy double life of Matt Lauer.
After reporting on a recent wave of powerful men brought down by sexual harassment allegations,
the longtime Today show anchor found himself among them when he was unceremoniously fired
ahead of the show's November 29th, 2017 broadcast.
The news of Matt Lauer's termination came via a memo from NBC News Chairman Andrew Lack,
which stated, in part,
"NBC received a detailed complaint from a colleague about inappropriate sexual behavior
in the workplace by Matt Lauer."
The memo said that while there have been no other complaints about Lauer's behavior throughout
his 20 years of employment with NBC, they have reason to believe this may not have been
an isolated incident.
In the wake of Lauer's firing, Variety and the New York Times also published allegations
from multiple women of sexual misconduct by Lauer.
Two years later, in an excerpt from Ronan Farrow's 2019 book Catch & Kill, Brooke Nevils
claimed that her life was, quote, "derailed" after she suffered emotional and physical
trauma from a sexual encounter with Lauer in in 2014.
Nevils eventually received a "seven-figure settlement."
Two years after the initial allegations, Lauer spoke out in a lengthy statement to Variety
where he denied all claims of inappropriate sexual behavior.
Lauer painted his alleged assault of Nevils as a long-running, consensual extramarital
affair that went sour after he decided to return to his normal life and, in his words,
"pretend as if nothing had happened."
Lauer claimed the affair began at the 2014 Olympics, but the pair continued seeing each
other once they returned home to New York.
He admitted that he eventually ended their relationship by ceasing all communication,
but claimed Nevils attempted to rekindle their romance by calling him, as he alleged, "late
at night while [he] was home with [his] family."
He then accused the former NBC employee of making false accusations to help sell a book.
Lauer concluded his lengthy denial letter with this message:
"For two years, the women with whom I had extramarital relationships have abandoned
shared responsibility, and instead, shielded themselves from blame behind false allegations.
They have avoided having to look a boyfriend, husband, or a child in the eye and say, 'I
cheated.'
They have done enormous damage in the process.
And I will no longer provide them the shelter of my silence."
In addition to the horrific details of alleged sexual harassment, many took note of the creepy
depiction of Lauer's office at 30 Rock, particularly the alleged button under his desk that allowed
him to lock his door from the inside without getting up from his seat.
As Variety originally reported in 2017,
"This afforded him the assurance of privacy.
It allowed him to welcome female employees and initiate inappropriate contact while knowing
nobody could walk in on him, according to two women who were sexually harassed by Lauer."
Sources for People later claimed that the button was a, quote, "idiosyncratic thing"
that was standard in "many exec offices in 30 Rock," but Lauer told Variety in his 2019
statement that no such button ever existed.
He explained,
"Despite numerous erroneous reports in the past, there was not a button in my office
that could lock the door from the inside.
There was no such locking mechanism.
It didn't exist.
NBC confirmed this fact publicly following my termination.
It would have been impossible to confine anyone in my office, for any purpose, and I have
never attempted to make anyone feel as if they were confined in my office."
Though he has often received high praise from his colleagues over the years, Lauer's behavior
around the likes of former co-anchors Katie Couric and Meredith Vieira wasn't always the
most professional.
After allegations of sexual harassment by Lauer were made public, TMZ uncovered one
particularly unsettling video of Lauer making inappropriate comments to Vieira during a
commercial break for Today in 2006.
He's heard saying,
"Pretty sweater.
Keep bending over like that.
It's a nice view."
Meanwhile, TMZ also resurfaced a 2012 interview Couric gave to Watch What Happens Live's Andy
Cohen, during which she quipped that Lauer often pinched her behind on the set of Today.
Granted, Couric brushed off her confession with a laugh.
"I was joking, it was a total joke."
And Vieira's husband told TMZ that his wife wasn't actually offended by Lauer's comment.
Nonetheless, Ronan Farrow reported in Catch and Kill that Vieira was the one who encouraged
Nevils to formally report Lauer.
The former Today host later appeared on Andy Cohen's SiriusXM show Radio Andy where she
admitted she was shocked to hear about Lauer's allegations, but glad that women were brave
enough to come forward.
"Eventually this had to happen, and I don't mean particularly to Matt, but just in general."
Lauer's reputation with NBC has taken hits before.
New York magazine's in-depth feature on Ann Curry's messy 2012 exit from the Today show
speculates that Lauer's attitude and lack of on-air chemistry with Curry may have been
a major contributing factor to her uncomfortable and very public downfall.
The feature's author went on to say,
"Lauer looked awkward and unhappy next to her [on air], a situation that Lauer himself
had also diagnosed.
He openly complained about her to NBC staffers and to [executive producer Jim] Bell."
Things reportedly got so bad that Lauer allegedly began fighting with producers in the early
morning and making it known that he was miserable with Curry.
Curry's experience was much different than the one described by New York magazine.
In a 2018 interview with CBS This Morning, the anchor claimed NBC's, quote, "climate
of verbal harassment [and] verbal sexual harassment was pervasive," and that she wasn't shocked
to hear about Lauer's allegations.
As for whether or not Lauer got her fired, she admitted that she didn't know what was
behind it.
"I do know that it hurt like hell.
It wasn't a fun moment, I've learned a great deal about myself, I've really at this point
let it go."
Lauer ended up signing a two-year deal that would earn him a record-breaking $25 million
per year, and the Today show would essentially be "rebuilt" around him.
Talk about power.
As for Curry, New York magazine alleges that while Lauer's contract reboot did not directly
lead to her ousting, he had more than enough leverage to save her, particularly given his
newfound power, he just didn't use it.
Ouch.
Although his name got dragged through the mud after Curry's departure, Lauer weathered
the storm, at least long enough to renew his contract for another two years in 2014.
By that point, you'd think he would have developed a bit of humility, but perhaps not.
According to Page Six, NBC News execs were desperate to keep Lauer happy.
The source told the paper,
"They believe Today has turned a corner and he is the key to its continuing success...They
agreed to pay for his helicopter flights to the Hamptons and back, so he can spend more
time with his family."
A spokesperson for the show didn't outright deny the report, saying,
"On rare occasions, Matt will fly home, but most of the time you'll find him stuck in
traffic on the Long Island Expressway with everyone else."
Although freshly minted Today show member Billy Bush was the first to get the scoop
on Ryan Lochte's alleged robbery during the Rio Olympics in August 2016, NBC quickly turned
to Lauer to cover everything that happened next.
How did that happen?
Some Page Six sources, calling Lauer an "anchor animal," allege that he dove in and scooped
up the story for himself.
A source claimed,
"Matt has a history of demanding interviews, and it's Billy's first big story as anchor.
It was his story.
NBC snubbed Billy and let Matt do it.
Billy got burned."
A second insider added,
"This is Matt's story now.
Billy got it, but was pushed out."
A third source claimed Lochte specifically requested to speak to Lauer because the veteran
newsman had interviewed the swimmer multiple times in the past.
If it's any consolation for Bush, the whole thing turned out to be a big, fat lie.
"He lied.
He lied to you."
"Yeah."
"He lied to Matt Lauer, lied to his mom."
Lauer married Annette Roque in 1998, and three children later, he's by all means a doting
family man.
Still, his seemingly perfect personal life reportedly almost fell apart back in 2008
when Roque quietly filed for divorce.
The split was called off about a month later, but no one knew about the trouble until 2014,
when Radar Online got its hands on Roque's divorce papers.
In the documents, Roque reportedly alleged that Lauer:
"[Endangered her] physical and mental well-being...so as to render it unsafe and improper [to] live
with him."
She also claimed,
"[He] continuously and repeatedly [gave] higher priority to...personal interests than to his
family obligations to [her], causing [her] to feel abandoned, isolated and alone in raising
the parties' children."
If that wasn't damning enough, Roque also alleged Lauer was, quote, "extremely controlling,"
to the point where she was unable to make any decisions without his approval.
According to People, Lauer and Roque formally separated following his termination by NBC.
Their divorce was finalized in 2019, just before Lauer publicly admitted to having extra
marital affairs.
In the wake of Lauer's sexual misconduct scandal, People published a report alleging that he
cheated on his wife often and that it was an open secret.
One source said,
"Everyone knew.
His wife lives in the Hamptons and he lives in the city, but we never heard he made unwanted
moves."
A second source added,
"Everyone on staff knew he cheated regularly on his wife."
A third source claimed,
"There was most definitely more than one [affair]...They were never with anyone whom [Lauer] didn't
have significant seniority over."
And yet, the source also claimed that Lauer wasn't known as the type of guy who would
trap or corner anyone against their will.
As it turns out, People's report had at least one aspect correct.
In Lauer's 2019 statement to Variety, Lauer finally owned up to his affairs, saying,
"Because of my infidelity, I have brought more pain and embarrassment to my family than
most people can ever begin to understand.
They've been through Hell.
I have asked for their forgiveness, taken responsibility for what I did do wrong, and
accepted the consequences."
Affair with Natalie?
Lauer's personal life was called into question again in 2016 when Page Six alleged that Natalie
Morales was leaving Today for Access Hollywood because she and Lauer were having an affair.
A source said,
"There's speculation it's one of the reasons why she's moving...Matt didn't want to work
with her.
There's an awkwardness between Matt and Natalie...He protected her for a long time and now it seems
like something has gone awry."
Both Lauer and Morales denied the gossip, with Lauer telling The Mike Lupica Podcast
that he addressed the allegations in order to protect his family.
A year prior, Lauer also shot down rumors that he had an affair with celebrity chef
Giada De Laurentiis.
Though you won't hear him complaining on air, word on the street was Lauer wasn't happy
about adding former Fox News star Megyn Kelly to the NBC news team.
According to Page Six, the, quote, "notoriously territorial" Lauer was informed about Kelly's
hiring on the same morning the news broke.
He allegedly didn't appreciate being left in the dark.
As a source claimed, he "blew a gasket."
Kelly might have outlived Lauer on the network, but she was eventually let go.
Megyn Kelly Today was canceled following the host's controversial comments about blackface.
But others believe the real reason for her show's cancellation was her coverage of the
allegations against Lauer earlier that fall, like her interview with former Today production
assistant Addie Zinone, who categorized her alleged sexual relationship with Lauer as
"an abuse of power."
When asked about the segment by Us Weekly, Kelly told the outlet that she knows, in her
words, "too much that others don't know" about Lauer's situation, and refused to comment
on whether or not NBC pushed back on her for her reporting.
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