It’s been eight years since Matt Lauer was fired from his longtime gig hosting the TODAY show. Indeed, he was fired by NBC back in 2017 amid sexual harassment allegations from multiple women. Now, an insider is updating fans on Lauer’s life today. According to this source, Lauer is desperate to have a media comeback.
Lauer Wants A Comeback
The insider told People Magazine that Lauer, 67, is “doing well in his private life” and “wants to get back into the media arena in some capacity, if not TV.”
“He has talked to some people about it,” the source continued.
Lauer reportedly spends most of his time in the Hamptons these days. He’s currently enjoying his relationship with girlfriend Shamin Abas. Together, they often travel to Lauer’s home in New Zealand. Though he is happy with his life, Lauer is also “still angry” with “the way he was treated by the industry” and “people he thought were his friends.”
In addition, Lauer has been focused on being a “good father” for his three children, and on spending time with them. He shares his children Jack, 24, Romy, 22, and Thijs, 18, with his ex-wife Annette Roque.
Lauer Isn’t ‘Going Off Into The Sunset’
Last year, another source claimed to US Weekly that Lauer was “building the foundation for a comeback.”
“He’s not going off into the sunset,” this insider alleged. “He is on good terms with his kids, which was the most important thing for him. This was not always the case post-divorce but now he’s good with the kids.”
As for Lauer’s girlfriend Abas, the source said that “they’re very much on. He wants to show that he’s in a stable relationship. He’s not a playboy. He has a stable life.”
Lauer was hired by TODAY back in 1994, and he became a host there three years later. He was shockingly fired in November of 2017 after he was accused of sexual misconduct by a female staff. Indeed, she alleged that Lauer had behaved inappropriately to her when the covered the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, three years prior.
Lauer Defends Himself
“I have made no public comments on the many false stories from anonymous or biased sources that have been reported about me over these past several months,” Lauer said in 2018. “I remained silent in an attempt to protect my family from further embarrassment and to restore a small degree of the privacy they have lost.”
“But defending my family now requires me to speak up. I fully acknowledge that I acted inappropriately as a husband, father and principal at NBC,” he continued. “However I want to make it perfectly clear that any allegations or reports of coercive, aggressive or abusive actions on my part, at any time, are absolutely false.”
Lauer’s wife divorced him in 2019 after 21 years of marriage. He started dating Abas soon thereafter.
Lauer’s firing came as a shock to many, as he was widely seen as a popular figure on TODAY. It will certainly be interesting to see if he can get the comeback that he craves. Given the damage that has been done to Lauer’s reputation, however, we can’t say that it’s looking good for him.