Al Roker and Deborah Roberts are an iconic power couple with a lot to celebrate in the new year! The duo stopped by for ET’s “Spilling the E-Tea” to talk about their ever-growing family life, recent career moves, and their epic love story.
Most notably, the couple opens up about Deborah being named the new co-anchor of ABC News’ 20/20 alongside David Muir back in September 2023.
“It is an honor. I think it is something that gives me a feeling of accomplishment and great pride; this is a program that I have been watching since I was a child,” Deborah shares when Al asks about her new role. “I remember in my home, in the living room with my sister Janet who loved 20/20 and we would watch it together, and I think maybe at some point somebody said, ‘Oh, maybe you’ll work on a show like that one day,’ and of course it was such a great thrill to join the program 28 years ago. And now, to be in this particular seat where Barbra Walters sat, I mean it’s just a thrill of a lifetime. I’ve said that before and it is, it really is.”
Deborah took up the role that was previously held by Amy Robach, who left ABC News after her romance with T.J. Holmes, her former GMA3 co-anchor, made headlines in November 2022.
ABC News president Kim Godwin made the announcement in a note to the news division, writing, “Deborah has been reporting for 20/20 since 1995, covering everything from profiles of political figures to the most shocking crime cases gripping the nation. She is a skilled investigative journalist, oftentimes trekking across the country to conduct hard-hitting interviews providing viewers with relevant, insightful information. Deborah is an empathetic reporter, bringing humanity to every story.”
Godwin listed Deborah’s storied accomplishments during her tenure at ABC, including reporting for Nightline, Good Morning America and World News Tonight With David Muir, as well as serving as a substitute anchor for Good Morning America and a guest co-host on The View.
Originally recruited by Barbara Walters in 1995, Deborah has since received a Peabody Award for the 20/20 special “Say Her Name: Breonna Taylor,” was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame in 2023, and has been awarded multiple Emmy Awards for her national and international coverage of world events, including the AIDS crisis in Africa and maternal mortality in Bangladesh.
“I remember when she retired, and you were one of a number of women who talked about how Barbra Walters influenced you,” Al recalls.
Deborah adds, “Everybody had a Barbra Walters style of interviewing, and I remember you said to me at one point, not even thinking that I was trying to imitate Barbra or somebody in that anchor world, and you said, ‘Just be you,’ and it’s not always easy just being you because you have to sort of let go and just kinda put your personality out there, and you sort of encouraged me to do that.”
Al jokes that Deborah let the “genie out of the bottle” that he encouraged her to pursue the role, and Deborah quips back that everybody can blame him for her trajectory.
After her new role was announced, Deborah took to her Instagram page to celebrate the news, sharing a photo of her with her close friend and new co-anchor.
“I am thrilled and humbled to step into the role as co-anchor @abc2020 alongside my friend and colleague @davidmuirabc. We are proud to carry on the tradition of in-depth reporting on this venerable newsmagazine, which has revealed truths and opened hearts and minds for 46 years, beginning with the great Barbara Walters and Hugh Downs,” she captioned the photo.
“It is the thrill of a lifetime to travel the path which Barbara cleared for women like me who dreamed of reporting meaningful and life-changing stories,” she added. “What a privilege and honor to keep the legacy going @abcnews #gratitude.”
When Deborah asks her husband how he thinks she’s been at her new role, Al can’t help but praise her — although he does quip about her “chemistry” with David.
“I think you’re doing great, you know? I mean, look the one thing — the poster of you and David Muir, you’ve got the trench coat, you look [like a] badass. In fact, the chemistry almost seems a little too good.”
Still, Al can’t deny that the co-anchors have “a rapport” since they’ve worked together before. “You both adore each other, and I think the show is now to the next level,” he says.
Al has been very vocal about his happiness for his wife. He also took to Instagram to share the news, gushing about Deborah in his caption.
“So proud of @debrobertsabc being named co-anchor alongside @davidmuirabc of legendary #newsmagazine @abc2020 It was 28 years ago when #barbarawalters was on the other end of the phone, inciting Deborah to lunch and talk about joining g her on the broadcast,” he wrote. “And now, she gets to continue that legacy. #iloveitwhenaplancomestogether.”
Deborah replied, “So honored and humbled. 💜”
While Al jokes that he’ll have to be at the top of his game to keep Deborah happy, since she has the tendency to get home “hangry” when she gets caught up in work and misses lunch, it’s clear that the couple is still as in love with one anotheras they were when they tied the knot on Sept. 16, 1995.
The 20/20 anchor admitted that the beloved Today host is the more romantic of the two.
“You are so thoughtful and I think a lot of people think of you as just this funny guy — and you are. But you’re also very sensitive,” she tells her husband of over two decades. “You’re very sentimental, and you remember all kinds of little things, and that is so sweet to me. I mean, there are times when I come out of the bathroom after brushing my teeth, and, you know, getting ready for bed, and you’ve got some little something on my pillow or on the nightstand that is just so sweet. Little sonnets. He bought me a little book of sonnets once and just left it by my bed just to read.”
Al can’t help but interject with a joke, saying, “I gave you something to read so you wouldn’t have to talk to me.”
Undeterred, Deborah shares that the morning show anchor slips “little notes in my suitcase so when I’m traveling, if I’m gonna be gone for two to three days, [I can] open this one Sunday night, open this one Monday morning, and it is something hilarious or sweet and sentimental.”
And the couple gushes about being grandparents after Al’s daughter, Courtney Roker Laga — whom he shares with ex-wife Alice Bell — welcomed her first child.
“She’s so beautiful and so sweet,” Deborah coos. “But I feel like, ‘Wow, we did that,’ and, you know, it’s so good to hand her back.”
Al agrees, noting that “that’s the beauty” of being grandparents and empty nesters. “See, it’s the best of parenting without any of the responsibility,” he says. “It’s fantastic.”
