Robin Rene Roberts and Amber Laign sat at a corner table in a restaurant a few hundred feet from the studio on a recent Thursday morning after ABC’s “Good Morning America” had ended its broadcast.
They were excited to tell their love story and were ecstatic that their wedding day was just two weeks away.
“I could never have envisioned as a little kid experiencing childhood in Mississippi that I’d be staying here with you in New York City, with my life partner who is a lady, and uninhibitedly, straightforwardly and energetically discussing it,” said Ms. Roberts, a large group of “G.M.A.”
“For it to be gotten with no guarantees,” she said, “is a gift.”
Ms. Roberts wasn’t generally so open about her relationship, having turned out in a Facebook post in 2013, eight years after the couple began dating. What’s more, Ms. Laign wasn’t generally open to venturing into the public eye. However, the couple is now accepting the spotlight. On Friday, Sept. 8, they wedded in their home in Farmington, Conn., and they plunked down with The New York Times for a restrictive meeting about their excursion together.
Their mutual friends, Bert Schwartz and Alex Schlempp, set them up on a blind date in 2005, which led to their first meeting. Be that as it may, they had dropped on one another a couple of times.
Ms. Roberts, 62, stated, “Bert had set me up before.” And since it didn’t go as planned, his relationship with me wasn’t the best.”
On the other hand, Ms. Laign, 49, “just wasn’t in the mood.” So when she saw that Ms. Roberts didn’t go on air on the morning of July 26, 2005, she was feeling quite a bit better. She assumed that meant Ms. Roberts would be ill and have to reschedule their first date.
The truth was that Ms. Roberts was worn out from flying back to New York the night before to cover the Tour de France with Lance Armstrong. In fact, she wasn’t debilitated.
The two were persuaded to go on the date by their friends before Ms. Roberts could cancel once more. They had had enough of the two women avoiding each other, even though they were aware of this.
Ms. Roberts stated, “These were two friends who really knew us, and they were much more interested in us getting together than we were.” I can’t wait to attend the wedding with them.
Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Schlempp were also present when they finally got together for drinks that evening at the Library Bar of the Hudson Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. Ms. Roberts had such a great time that she welcomed the gathering out to supper. In spite of the fact that Mr. Schlempp couldn’t remain, and Ms. Laign had quite recently met the other two in the gathering, she consented to supper at any rate — “absolutely, totally venturing outside my usual range of familiarity,” she said. ” I’m an exceptionally modest individual.” ( She probably stayed for dinner because she was hungry, they joked. I truly do have an extraordinary hunger,” Ms. Laign said.)
Ms. Roberts would be going to Tahiti with friends on Saturday. Before she left for her vacation, she wanted to see Ms. Laign. She put off making plans for Friday until Thursday because she thought calling her the following day was too soon.
“I let it go to voice message,” Ms. Laign said. ” I was so anxious, like when you get a call and your heart starts racing when you see it? She regained her composure before calling Ms. Roberts once more. For their second date, they went to the Eatery in Hell’s Kitchen.
The discussion was liquid, and when Ms. Laign let her companions know that it was so natural to chat with Ms. Roberts, they told her, “Indeed, that is how she makes ends meet.”
Ms. Roberts stated, “And I was hurt.” I wasn’t going to interview you over dinner! In any case, Ms. Roberts’ inquiries permitted the two to glean some useful knowledge about one another, similar to their common love for disco. ” See, by asking my questions, I learned something,” Ms. Roberts chuckled.
After Ms. Roberts got back from Tahiti, they went on a few dates, yet at the same time hadn’t shared a kiss. About a month after their most memorable date, in the lift of Ms. Robin’s loft, she went to Ms. Laign and said, “You realize I like you, right?” ( which Ms. Laign answered softly with a “yes.”)
Ms. Roberts said, “I felt like I was in high school.” Man, you’re making me work, I think.
On Ms. Laign’s side, she said that she would have rather not made a stumble, so she abstained from being a tease.
They finally got their first kiss a few weeks later in Ms. Roberts’ apartment after drinking tequila on her balcony.
It was fun for the couple to bond over their differences. For example, Ms. Laign said she didn’t understand anything about sports. Ms. Roberts, who had been a school athlete and a sportscaster for a long time, was used to being around people who were passionate about sports.
Ms. Roberts, who briefed Ms. Laign on the various sports’ rules, said, “It was refreshing.” Ms. Laign continued, “I had no idea who she was.” She used to watch NBC’s “Today” show, not “G.M.A,” so she was curious about Ms. Roberts, who had taken the action before in 2005 from a host on ESPN to an anchor of “G.M.A.” with Diane Sawyer and Charlie Gibson.
Ms. Laign replied, “I can hang,” when asked if she enjoys sports at the moment. They now attend U.S. Open matches and watch Liberty basketball at the Barclays Center.
From almost immediately in their relationship, Ms. Laign has been serious areas of strength for a framework for Ms. Roberts through enormous individual misfortune. This began in the consequence of Storm Katrina, in August 2005. The hurricane had severely damaged a large portion of Ms. Roberts’ hometown of Pass Christian, Mississippi.
“I feel like I’m a characteristic parental figure,” said Ms. Laign, who experienced childhood in Clayton, Calif. So when Ms. Roberts was determined to have bosom disease in 2007, Ms. Laign ventured into the guardian job without a second thought. And afterward again in 2012, when Ms. Roberts was determined to have an uncommon blood issue called myelodysplastic condition, which expected her to spend almost a half year behind closed doors at “G.M.A.”
“I was like, ‘obviously I will be close by.’ Ms. Laign stated, “I would never, ever leave her.”
So when Ms. Laign was determined to have bosom malignant growth in 2021, Ms. Roberts had the option to return the providing care.
Ms. Roberts mentioned, “She taught me how.”
Ms. Roberts moved on from Southeastern Louisiana College with a four year certification in correspondence. Ms. Laign graduated from the Swedish Institute, College of Health Sciences, with an associate of occupational studies degree. Her company, Plant Juice Oils, is a wellness store for women.
Despite the fact that they first discussed marriage in 2014 while driving back from a trip to Hawaii, they began seriously considering it during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“It was only sort of something that we discussed now and again throughout the long term,” Ms. Roberts said. Ms. Roberts said, jokingly imitating them in a nasal, high-pitched voice, “We don’t need a piece of paper, we know our love is real.” A lot of the time, they would think that.
However, from March 2020 to September 2020, they shared a home in Farmington, Connecticut, during the pandemic. From the basement, Ms. Roberts was appearing on “G.M.A.” They hung out in that time span than they had in their whole relationship. Early on in their relationship, they tried to live together, but it was making it hard for Ms. Roberts to stick to her strict morning routine, which includes getting up at 3:45 in the morning. They still stay apart three nights a week; they each have apartments on the Upper West Side, about 10 minutes apart.
Going through each day together during the pandemic was “amazing,” they said simultaneously.
Ms. Roberts commented on 2020, “It was hard when I had to go back in September and Amber stayed at home in Connecticut.” That’s when they decided to get married to celebrate their love.
They proposed to one another in December 2022 while they were sitting one next to the other in a stall at El Coyote in New Milford, Conn., one of their number one eateries. Ms. Roberts haphazardly placed a calamari “ring” on Ms. Laign’s finger. And afterward Ms. Laign did likewise consequently.
After that, they never even considered purchasing actual engagement rings.
In front of 31 guests, the couple tied the knot on September 8 in the backyard of their Connecticut residence. The Rev. Robert Jemerson, Ms. Roberts’ former pastor, presided over the ceremony.
For the couple’s entrance, violinist Caroline Campbell played Ms. Laign’s favorite song, “Stand by Me.” In memory of Ms. Roberts’s 2012-deceased mother, Lucimarian Tolliver, her father, Col. Lawrence Roberts, who passed on in 2004, and Ms. Laign’s dad Paul Laign, who passed on in 2020, the musician played out a mixture of their main tunes: ” Favored Confirmation” by Alan Jackson, “What a Magnificent World” by Louis Armstrong and “Chiquitita” by Abba.
A while later, they celebrated with 250 visitors at Farmington Nurseries. Ms. Roberts shared a video on Instagram of her nephew, Jeremiah Craft, engaging in a dance competition with fellow “G.M.A.” anchor Whit Johnson. The musical theme was disco, soul, and R&B. The list of attendees included Billie Jean Ruler, Spike Lee and George Stephanopoulos. Throughout the evening, the M.C. was former “G.M.A.” weather anchor Sam Champion.
During the reception, the brides changed into white pantsuits and wore custom Badgley Mischka gowns. They hadn’t seen each other in that frame of mind until they strolled down the path.
Both of them had made plans to surprise one another. Ms. Roberts played out a unique dance for Ms. Laign, which transformed into a glimmer horde comprising of twelve individuals. In addition, referring to their first date, Ms. Laign had a phrase sewn into her gown when Ms. Roberts asked her if she wanted to stay for drinks and dinner. Indeed to supper, consistently.”
