Al Roker's Secrets to Being a Great Husband
The Today Show star shares how he's made love last for 19 years.
How did you and Deborah meet?
She was filling in on the Today Show reading the news, and I was filling in doing the weather for Willard Scott. It started as a friendship and over a two-year period of time, it turned into a romance.
When did you know she was 'the one'?
It was the first time she made me laugh. You don't find a lot of beautiful women who also have a great sense of humor.
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You have the undivided attention of the nation every weekday morning. What do you do to keep your wife's undivided attention?
The best way to get anybody's attention is dinner. I have good kitchen skills and good grocery shopping skills.
How do you achieve a sense of balance between work and family [Roker has three kids, ages 11, 15 and 25]?
It's a work in progress, and that's how you have to look at it. I try to err on the side of family, but because of the nature of the job, I could be called away at a moment's notice to cover a breaking weather story or a news event. What I try to do is that when I'm at home, I'm at home. We're working hard at putting away our devices and not taking calls. Sometimes, you have to, but I'll say, "Look guys, I've got to take this call, but when I'm done, I'm all yours. I just need 20 minutes."
What's the most romantic thing you've done for your wife recently?
We went to see Steve Tyrell perform at the Café Carlyle in New York. I surprised her and took a room at the Carlyle Hotel that night. Of course, my 14-year-old daughter Leila said, 'Why are you staying at a hotel when you have a house here?' Then, she said, 'Oh, you want to get away from us!' Bingo!
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Are there any topics you and your wife avoid?
If a pair of pants makes her look fat. I don't understand any guy that might say, "Honey, do you want to re-think those pants? I think you look a little chunky in those." Are you insane? You don't bring that up! If she asks me, I'll say, "Wait a minute, isn't that the doorbell?" or "I think the kids are calling!"
What's your wife's best habit?
We both travel all the time, but we never take off on a plane or leave without calling the other person to say, 'I love you.' Not that we're fatalistic or anything, but you never know.
What about her worst habit?
Having been married now for 19 years, there are none. I'm certainly not going to tell you!
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What amazes you about her?
That she can do everything she does -- work a full-time job, be a really great mom, be a really great daughter taking care of her own mom -- and do it all really well. Two people in television isn't the easiest scenario. Let's face it, as much as the guys want to say they help, most of it still falls to mom. At the end of the day, when the kids are sick, who do they usually want? Mom.
What's the best part of your day?
When we have dinner -- that part when you're in the midst of it. When you've got a teenager and a pre-teen, especially a son and a daughter, and they're going at each other at the table, all you really want is just five minutes of quiet, but sometimes I have a moment during the chaos when I think, "Yes, this is good." Then, when your kids are in bed, and you have a chance to be quiet next to each other: I love that moment, too.
- By Wendy Zipes Hunter
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