The 'Today' show weatherman announces he is having a granddaughter while explaining he found out the gender of his unborn grandchild despite wanting to be 'surprised.'
- May 8, 2023
AceShowbiz - Al Roker discovered the sex of his future grandchild despite wanting to "be surprised." The "Today" show weatherman, 68, revealed to Entertainment Tonight on Wednesday, May 3 that his daughter Courtney Roker is pregnant with a baby girl and after telling the outlet he was getting a "granddaughter" he tried to backtrack and say he had a "grandchild" on the way.
According to Al, he hadn't wanted to know the baby's sex in the first place but found out on text. "(Courtney sent) me a sonogram picture and I said, 'That baby looks just like you,' and she said, 'Doesn't she?' And then you see the bubbles. (She wrote), 'I'm so sorry!' and I went, 'You had one (job)!' I wanted to be surprised," he said.
Courtney, 36, and husband Wesley Laga's first child is due in June, three months after they announced the news on Instagram, with her saying on Instagram alongside baby bottle and heart emojis, "A new adventure is about to begin. Here we go! So very very happy!!!!!"
Al said on the "Today" show the day after the post he wanted to be called "Pop Pop," adding about his wife Deborah Roberts' reaction to the news, "Deborah is still not quite sure about the grandma thing, but we're very excited. It still hasn't quite sunken in."
The weather man adopted Courtney in 1987 with his then-wife, Alice Bell and, since their divorce in 1994, he has moved on with Deborah Roberts and had two more children - daughter Leila, 24, and 20-year-old son Nick.
His joy at the news he was to become a grandad comes after he admitted last year his string of recent hospitalisations had been "tough." He said on the "Today" show, "It's been a tough slog, I'm not gonna deny this."
"It's been the hardest one yet, and you know I've had my share of surgeries. I'm doing physical therapy every day, occupational therapy. I've got to just get my strength back. I feel good. I feel strong. Every day I feel a little bit better."
Al's health battles hit headlines in November when he explained his temporary absence on the NBC morning show. He told his Instagram followers, "Last week I was admitted to the hospital with a blood clot in my leg which sent some clots into my lungs. After some medical whack-a-mole, I am so fortunate to be getting terrific medical care and on the way to recovery."
Al's health woes forced him to miss Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time in 27 years. He also had an emergency carpal tunnel surgical procedure in 2018 and a hip replacement the following year.
In November 2020, he shared a prostate cancer diagnosis with viewers, warning the disease - which he beat after surgery - was "a little aggressive" despite him catching it early.
