Did you know that Robin Roberts was once told she would have only two years to live if she
didn't receive a bone marrow transplant?
Keep watching to learn more of the heartbreaking story of this Good Morning America host.
One of the most high-profile struggles Robin Roberts has faced has to be her breast cancer
diagnosis, which she confirmed in August 2007.
Roberts announced the tragic news in an essay for ABC News and shared she'd already undergone
surgery.
She went in depth about her cancer journey, sharing that she discovered a lump during
a self-examination triggered by the death of her colleague, Joel Siegel.
She then had the news confirmed by a doctor, describing the moment as "surreal."
According to Cancer Connect, Roberts underwent a grueling schedule of surgery, eight rounds
of chemotherapy, and nearly two months of radiation therapy.
She told the outlet that she "wasn't present" while going through her treatment.
Roberts has also been open about how much losing her hair had affected her.
Her hair loss even inspired Roberts to ditch her wig on Good Morning America in April 2008
to proudly show off her natural look.
She then chose to shave her head to take back the power she felt she'd lost to cancer.
Roberts told Cancer Connect,
"I decided; cancer didn't, chemo didn't — I did that.
I was going to lose my hair that day.
[...] As a survivor, I have a sense of responsibility.
When you are blessed to get through it, you want to become that person for others."
Robin Roberts' breast cancer diagnosis isn't the only time she's received devastating medical
news.
In June 2012, Robin was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, a rare blood cancer that
required a bone marrow transplant.
In a September 2021 appearance on Rachael Ray, Roberts revealed just how serious her
condition was, saying her doctor told her she only had a year or two to live if she
didn't get the transplant.
Fortunately, Roberts found her guardian angel in her sister Sally-Ann Roberts.
Roberts told Rachael Ray,
"My other siblings were not a match.
My doctors had already told me there was not anybody on the list that matched me.
It came down to my sister Sally-Ann."
Robin's sister, Sally-Ann, went on to tell WWL, the New Orleans television station where
she anchors,
"When I got that news, it was like Christmas times 1,000, because anyone who knows what
it's like to wait for that kind of news realizes the trauma.
If Robin had not found a match within her family, she would have been one of those 6,000
people to be searching for a match."
In 2013, Robin opened up about the procedure on 20/20, sharing how she "was in another
place" when it happened following 10 days of chemotherapy.
Thankfully though, everything went well and Roberts returned to Good Morning America in
February 2013, iconically telling viewers,
"I have been waiting 174 days to say this: 'Good Morning America.'"
Robin Roberts endured a family emergency around the same time she received her MDS diagnosis.
Robin started her medical leave a day early to be with her ailing mother, Lucimarian Roberts,
in Mississippi.
Her hometown was still reeling from Tropical Storm Isaac, and the TV anchor forged through
flooded roads to be with her mom one last time.
Lucimarian died on August 30, 2012.
Robin's sister, Sally-Ann Roberts, also went home, even though she was in New York City
with Robin preparing to donate her bone marrow.
Robin reflected on the tragic time to People in 2015, telling the outlet:
"'GMA' finally becomes number one in the [ratings], and the same day I'm told I have two years
left to live [...] Answering a prayer, my sister is a perfect match.
Then, [...] I have to rush home to be by my beloved mother's side.
I was the one holding her hand when she took her last breath."
Robin has since reflected on how much she misses her mom and what she'd make of everything
she's accomplished in the wake of her death, telling ET in 2021:
"I think she'd be cheering me on from her heavenly balcony, that's what I think."
"Mom, I'm home."
Robin Roberts has reportedly had to deal with racism in the workplace.
In June 2020, HuffPost reported that former ABC News exec Barbara Fedida was put on leave
by the network after she apparently made racist comments about Roberts following reports she
wanted a pay raise.
Fedida was officially let go the next month.
In a statement from Walt Disney Television obtained by Variety, the network's investigation
concluded:
"[Fedida made] some of the unacceptable racially insensitive [comments and] on occasion, used
crass and inappropriate language."
Speaking prior to the allegations, Roberts shared that racial prejudice is something
she's been aware of from the start of her career.
Roberts told NPR in 2007:
"There were times that I really felt that it was going to be difficult, and it was,
to get hired, initially."
Thankfully, Roberts' mother and father kept her motivated.
Roberts explained to NPR how her father achieved his lifelong dreams of becoming a pilot, and
flew with the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
As for her mother, Roberts told NPR:
"My mother had very humble beginnings to go on to be the first in her family to go to
college at Howard University."
Though Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos appear to have one of the closest working
relationships on TV, there was a time it was claimed they had drama.
This all went down in August 2021 when Roberts and Stephanopolous allegedly had a pretty
serious falling out over a lawsuit filed against one of the GMA producers.
So how did things get so bad between them?
Well, it apparently went down after former GMA senior executive producer Michael Corn
was accused of condoning a "toxic work environment" and sexual assault in a lawsuit from a former
staff member.
Corn filed to have the lawsuit dismissed in October 2021.
According to a report by the Daily Beast, Roberts was supposedly "incensed" by how things
were handled.
On a conference call with GMA colleagues, she reportedly said,
"If this happened to someone on my team, I would have burned the place down."
That was thought to be a subtle dig at Stephanopoulos after it was alleged he may have been aware
of the allegations against Corn for years prior, which apparently left Stephanopoulos
"livid."
An ABC News spokesperson denied the reports, claiming the two were "fine" and had cleared
the air, saying,
"[Roberts] told him personally that she wasn't referring to him and called the team the next
day to reiterate that her comment was not about any one individual."
Robin Roberts has certainly endured her fair share of tragedies, and sadly had to experience
many of them without her beloved father, Lawrence Edward Roberts, by her side.
He died suddenly in 2004 following a heart attack.
Robin shared her dad's accomplishments in the 2021 documentary Tuskegee Airmen: Legacy
of Courage.
In a 2007 interview with NPR, Robin got into the significance of the path paved by her
father:
"He had the nerve as a child in the 1930s to dream of flying a plane when Blacks in
this country had very few rights.
And yet, he — that's what his dream was.
And you know what?
He did it."
As for how Roberts was affected by her father's passing, she's shared an insight into the
hole her dad's death left in her life in social media.
For Father's Day 2021, she shared a collection of photos of her dad on Facebook, telling
fans,
"Today and every day I do my best to honor my father's legacy.
Forever grateful for the lessons he taught me & my siblings through his kind words and
deeds.
Comforting to always feel his heavenly embrace."
Though she may be a New Yorker today, Robin Roberts' love for her Mississippi hometown
is certainly no secret.
In what's arguably become one of the most famous moments in her career, a highly emotional
Robin famously broke down in tears while reporting on Hurricane Katrina for Good Morning America
in 2005.
Tears streamed down Robin's face as she attempted to hold herself together, saying her family
was okay but their house was not in good shape.
In an essay for ABC News, Robin said she didn't actually head home with the primary intention
of reporting, but wanted to check on her mom, Lucimarian Roberts, who was too ill to evacuate
the area.
Roberts wrote in her essay:
"My heart was pounding seeing houses completely destroyed."
"We make it to the gulf coast where I have grown up.
I know what's supposed to be there.
And I know what's not there anymore."
Robin revealed to TV Insider in 2015 that she refused to go on air until she knew her
family was safe, but also thought her emotional moment could have cost her job.
Roberts told the outlet:
"The reason why I broke down on television like that was because I was grateful that
I found my family, but I was thinking, 'Oh my gosh, many people are tuning in and they
are feeling just like I felt, not knowing [if their] loved ones are OK.'"
Robin Roberts is a co-anchor on Good Morning America, an ESPN legend, the head of her own
production company, and so much more.
Needless to say, she's accomplished a lot over the course of her career, but it hasn't
always been the path she's had in mind.
Robin's initial big career goal was to become an athlete — she even headed to Southeastern
Louisiana University on a tennis scholarship.
Roberts hoped to go pro in the sports world, but she determined that wasn't in the cards.
In an October 2020 interview in Essence, Roberts had this to say:
"I want to be a professional athlete ... [but] there's this little thing called ability and
I didn't quite have it.
Everyone always says, 'Follow your passion.'
Well, I'm passionate about sports.
I had an interest in journalism and I thought I'd marry the two."
In 2007, Roberts told NPR that while she was there on a tennis scholarship, she played
basketball instead in college.
Though she dreamt of going all the way with the sport, she eventually changed course.
Roberts told NPR:
"When I realized that I was not going to be that professional athlete [...] I started
to panic a little bit."
Roberts went on to add that she felt inspired to combine the two by her sister Sally-Ann
Roberts, who was pursuing a career in journalism herself.
It seems like Robin Roberts has certainly learned how to turn tragedy into triumph.
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