Robin Roberts Marries Longtime Partner Amber Laign
Roberts and Laign tied the knot after first announcing their engagement on 'Good Morning America' in January.
Robin Roberts and Amber Laign are married! The newlyweds tied the knot in an intimate ceremony on Friday, Sept. 8 after 18 years together. After teasing the nuptials all week, Roberts and Laign confirmed the ceremony had gone down in an unconventional way. As spotted by PEOPLE, the couple shared a post on their Instagram page for their dog, Lukas.
Lukas is shown wearing a black bow tie in the image, which was captioned, "My mommies are MARRIED!!!! Married?……yes….married!!!" Roberts had previously shared a picture of Lukas in the same outfit earlier in the day, confirming that the wedding was imminent.
Prior to exchanging vows, Roberts took to Instagram Thursday to share a video of herself and Laign as they visited the Farmington County Clerk's Office in Connecticut to obtain their marriage license. In the clip, the couple could be seen smiling and holding hands as they walked into the office, where filled out the proper paperwork. After confirming that their paperwork was filled out, the Farmington County Clerk's Office employee asked the couple to raise their right hands and asked, "Do you sincerely affirm and declare that the statements herein made are true?" Both Roberts and Laign said, "Yes." Laign went on to quip, "I have to get used to signing Roberts."
Captioned by the Good Morning America anchor, "Road to the Ring is nearing an end...18 years and totally worth the wait," the clip generated plenty of excitement, with one fan writing, "Congratulations. you both deserve happiness and a lifetime together. many blessings."
Roberts and Laign, a massage therapist, have been together since 2005, when they were set up on a blind date by mutual friends. Recalling their first time meeting in her memoir, Everybody's Got Something," Roberts said she "liked the fact that she had no idea who I was. She rarely followed sports, so she never saw me on ESPN, and her office mates at the time watched a different morning show ... ouch." She added Laign "is extremely laid-back, no drama, no fuss. The main thing we have in common is positive energy. She sees the good in everyone."
A decade after coming out and going public with their relationship, Roberts revealed during an on-air GMA segment with author Gabby Bernstein on Jan. 1 about "saying yes" in 2023 that she and Laign were engaged. Asked by Bernstein what she planned to say "yes" to, Roberts stumbled a bit before sharing, "No, I don't have to think about it. I'm hesitating because I haven't said it out loud yet." She went on to tell viewers, "OK, I'm saying yes to marriage. We're getting married this year. It's something we have talked about but we had put it off. She became ill and it is saying yes to that and that next chapter."
Throughout their 18-year relationship, both Roberts and her wife have battle health issues. In 2007, Roberts fought and overcame an early form of breast cancer and was later diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Laing remained by her side as she underwent chemotherapy and had a bone marrow transplant from her sister, Sally-Ann Roberts, in 2012.In February 2022, Roberts announced that Laign was diagnosed with breast cancer months earlier. She completed her radiation treatment in July 2022.