Matt Lauer and wife Annette Roque‘s marriage had been rocky for some time, but his dramatic firing from the Today Show in Nov. of 2017 following reports of inappropriate sexual misconduct was the end of things. They’ve been living separately in the Hamptons and a new report says they’ve finally come to a divorce agreement. Page Six reports that Matt is “bending over backwards” to give Annette everything she wants and has agreed to pay her a $20 million divorce settlement. The couple had reportedly quietly started divorce proceedings back in January of 2018, hoping to keep the matter private.
The site reports that Matt is being so generous because he still feels guilty for allegedly cheating on her with several women at work during his 20 year tenure as co-host of Today. The 60-year-old got the gig three years after starting as an anchor on the show, and married Dutch model Annette in 1998. The couple has three children together, 17-year-old son Jack, 14-year-old daughter Romy and son Thijs, 11. Thankfully the horrible tension between the couple at the following his sexual misconduct scandal has since calmed down.
“Things really have settled down. Matt and Annette are getting on and they’re both spending time with their kids. They hope to settle the divorce very soon,” a source tells Page Six. The process was helped along by a “post-nup” that Matt agreed to when Annette tried to divorce him in 2006, citing “mental abuse, extreme mental and emotional distress, humiliation, torment and anxiety,” after one of his alleged affairs.
“Matt agreed to pay Annette a lump sum of millions back in 2006 as an incentive to stay with him to help him maintain his squeaky clean image as ‘America’s Dad’,” the source added. “She also got an allowance every year, plus it was agreed that she would get a share of the value of all their homes if they did split.” Right now the main hurdle for the divorce to be finalized is who gets their mansion that sits on 6.3 acres in Sag Harbor.
Matt has called it his “dream home” and loves it the place. However Annette has lived there full-time with the kids while Matt kept an Upper East Side apartment in NYC during the week while he worked on Today. He’s already sold that apartment for above the $7.35 million asking price and has another Sag Harbor home on the market for $12.75 million.