In addition to her duties as West Coast anchor for NBC's Today show, Natalie Morales also
hosts Access Hollywood and the occasional episode of Dateline.
That means she's an extremely busy, almost ever-present face on the TV sets of many Americans,
but what do we know about her when she's not delivering the news, dishing on Hollywood's
latest gossip, or highlighting a bizarre true crime story?
Let's dive into the untold truth of this peacock network personality.
Athletic anchor
Morales' athletic prowess is well-known to Today diehards, but outside of adventurous
segments on the morning show, Morales actually puts in some serious training hours in her
day-to-day life.
In a 2008 profile for Runner's World, Morales revealed that not only has she run numerous
marathons, she also runs several miles a day, twice a day, and did so right up to two days
before she gave birth to her first son.
She said,
"My ambition is to run a marathon in every major city."
By 2015, Morales added triathlons to her training resume, and while her regime may seem borderline
obsessive, it's actually part of her desire for a healthy work-life balance.
She told Experience Life,
"For me, being happy is tied to being healthy, and vice versa.
And when I make time for myself, I'm a better mom, a happier wife, a better person.
I just feel more complete.
We all deserve that."
Rumored affair
Long before Matt Lauer was given the boot from Today for alleged inappropriate behavior
in the workplace, he was the subject of another scandal: an alleged affair with Morales.
According to the National Enquirer, the rumors go all the way back to 2006, when Morales
and Lauer allegedly had a romantic rendezvous while covering the Winter Olympics in Torino,
Italy.
There were even stories claiming Morales' younger son was Lauer's "love child," and
the rumored romance was cited as a possible reason Morales made the move to the West Coast
and Access Hollywood in 2016.
Morales denied any affair, telling the tabloid,
"There is absolutely no truth to this completely absurd story.
It is damaging, hurtful and extremely sexist…
This move was dictated by me and my desire to grow in my career.
Any insinuations beyond that are uninformed."
A warrior
In 2015, Morales took her first stab at the infamous American Ninja Warrior obstacle course
in a segment for Today, but she fell short on one of the challenges, and by "fell short,"
we mean she slammed into the water flat on her back.
Ouch!
She returned to the intense competition in 2017, this time competing on behalf of Red
Nose Day, which is dedicated to ending child poverty.
Morales fared slightly better this time around, making it to the third obstacle before wiping
out.
"Here in the U.S., just in the last two years, they've raised over $60 million for children's
organizations and to help end child poverty, so I'm like, 'You know what?
I'm gonna throw my weight behind this.'"
Alleged feud
In another Today show behind-the-scenes scandal, it was reported that Morales frequently clashed
with co-anchor Tamron Hall.
According to Page Six, Morales and NBC News President Deborah Turness allegedly stopped
speaking for months over NBC's perceived desire to "promote Hall into a bigger role."
The Daily Beast even tracked what it believed to be on-air tension between Hall and Morales,
including a reference Hall apparently made to a tabloid story that reported Morales had
been fired from the show.
On air the next day, Hall jokingly asked Morales,
"What are you doing here?"
Morales supposedly wasn't amused.
Neither Hall nor Morales commented publicly on any beef between them, but Today Executive
Producer Don Nash has denied any hard feelings.
Charity work
In a profile for Bella NYC, Morales listed off her do-gooder resume, which includes working
with the Muscular Dystrophy Association and with Augie's Quest, a nonprofit pursuing a
cure for Lou Gehrig's Disease.
In addition to the Alzheimer's Association and Challenged Athletes Foundation, she's
also worked on a collaboration between Reebok and an organization called BOKS — Build
Our Kids Success — which Today reported is, quote, "a free program that provides children
across the country with fun physical activities before the school day."
For the partnership, Morales helped design "limited edition" running shoes, of which
Reebok agreed to donate $10 from the sale of each pair to BOKS in addition to a flat
donation of $10,000.
Banned comedian?
In 2012, comedian Kathy Griffin told USA Today,
"I just found out, I'm very excited, I'm re-banned from the Today show…
This time my camp heard that it was actually Natalie Morales."
According to Griffin, Morales was upset that Griffin was "rude to her at the Golden Globes"
that year and prompted the ban.
Not only did Morales firmly deny this, but a Today spokesperson backed Morales up with
an official statement that read:
"The idea that Today show anchors and hosts ban guests from appearing on the show is silly.
There was no incident between Natalie and Kathy at the Golden Globes or anywhere else.
In fact Natalie is a big fan of Kathy's."
Whatever actual beef the two may or may not have had seemingly ended a few years later.
Inspiring father
Morales cites her father as a huge inspiration in her journalism work.
Though he made his career in the Air Force, Morales' dad was a skilled communicator, which
is a feature that was not lost on his daughter.
"And he can make friends with anyone.
He talks to everyone, and it doesn't matter if they don't speak his language.
He'll figure out a way to communicate.
I got to see the world at a young age because of my dad.
And it really opened my eyes, it's the reason I am who I am today."
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