Matt Lauer Embarrassed Over Meredith Vieira Tongue Slip About Marriage

I love watching the morning television programs. I'm a big fan of both Good Morning America and the Today Show. I sometimes flip back and forth between the two. Today, I happened to flip to NBC's Today Show just in time to see a very embarrassing incident for both Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer. It's not unusual to see Vieira and Lauer gently ribbing each other on the air. That to me is what makes the co-anchors seem personable. However, I think Vieira might have taken her ribbing a little too far this morning when asking Lauer at what age did he first get married.

For those who are not fans of the show and didn't see the Today Show this morning, this may not seem embarrassing. The truth is that Lauer has been married twice and divorced once. Not unusual by today's standards, but something that truly Vieira forgot about when posing her question to Lauer. Lauer was discussing a segment coming up about marriage and when was the right age to get married. Vieira made a statement about her getting married in her thirties and then preceded to ask Lauer when he got married.

The minute Vieira "popped" the question she put her hands to her mouth and laughed with embarrassment. Lauer seemed to take it well. You could hear the crew in the background, with one of them saying "nice" loud enough to hear on camera. Vieira was quick to apologize. Lauer picked up the pieces and began pitching the segment again questioning whether or not age can play an important role in living happily ever after with your partner. Vieira classically ended the intro with, "I don't think I'm going to be one of those that lives happily ever after, after this show." I turned five shades of red for her!

Lauer's love life is no where as ridiculous as others with his stature and popularity, but is still publicized because of his stature. Lauer was briefly married from 1982 to 1989 to television producer Nancy Alspaugh. After the divorce, Lauer then dated and was later engaged to television newscaster Kristen Gesswein. The engagement and relationship ended in 1996. Two years later Lauer met his current wife Annette Roque, a Dutch model. According to sources, when Roque was pregnant with the couples third child she had filed for divorced and the couple was officially separated. However, the couple's issues were resolved and they quickly got back together.

This is definitely not the first time an on air comment has laundered someone's personal life and I'm sure it won't be the last. As embarrassing as it is, it happens and unfortunately is part of being a well known personality. Those kinds of slip of the tongue moments is what humanizes a television personality to me. Like most who saw this mornings brief incident, I would love to be there to see what takes place after the show.

Sources

NBC's Today Show, The Post Chronicle, Wikipedia