For some reason, Matt Lauer’s wife Annette Roque has always reminded me of Bridget Moynahan. I’ll get even more specific: she reminds me of Bridget’s Natasha character in Sex and the City. Am I the only one? Anyway, poor Annette. Just, poor Annette. She’s known her husband is a terrible person for a long time. They separated at some point, years ago, amidst claims that he was emotionally abusive and cruel to her. Eventually they reconciled, but it absolutely seemed like the bloom was off the rose of their marriage, and like they pretty much lived separate lives. Well, now that Lauer has been fired and more women are coming forward to tell their stories of his harassment, abuse and assault, it seems like Annette isn’t going to Good-Wife her way through this. She’s not sticking by her man. Can’t say I blame her.
Matt Lauer’s long-suffering wife Annette Roque has fled their home and is rumored to have headed back to her native Netherlands amid his sex harassment scandal. Multiple sources tell Page Six that Dutch-born former model Annette — Lauer’s wife of 20 years — was last seen at their Hamptons home on Wednesday, the day Lauer’s firing was announced.
One Hamptons source told Page Six, “Annette has taken their two younger kids out of school and is believed to have left the US and gone to her family in her native country.” It is believed her mother lives near Amsterdam. Amid the scandal, Annette has remained silent. She and Lauer have three children, Romy, 14, son Thijs, 11, and oldest son Jack, who is at a prep school outside Manhattan. It is not known if the kids are with Annette or remained at home with Lauer.
Reps for Lauer have repeatedly declined to comment on the state of his marriage or the whereabouts of his wife. Annette briefly filed for divorce in 2006, claiming she suffered “cruel and inhumane” treatment from Lauer, who she said in legal documents was controlling and demonstrated “extreme anger and hostility.” She withdrew the divorce filing a month later. Another well-placed source insisted that the reason Annette withdrew her divorce filing is that Lauer offered her a post-nuptial agreement at the time of the filing, offering her up to a rumored $5 million deal to remain in the marriage.
The source said, “Matt needed to stay in the marriage to keep his reputation as America’s nicest dad. He is in fact a great, and very doting dad to his kids, but he is also a terrible husband.”
It sounds like Annette was Lauer’s victim as much as many of his female colleagues. I would assume that she didn’t just go back to him for the money – she likely went back because she didn’t want a messy divorce, she wanted to raise her children in peace, and she got Lauer to agree to the idea of “separate lives.” She lives in the Hamptons full-time, and I would assume Lauer spends much of the week in Manhattan. Anyway, I don’t hate that Annette is getting the f–k out of there. More power to her.
Meanwhile, it was reported last week that Lauer was asking for a $30 million golden parachute following his dismissal from NBC. Page Six pointed out that Lauer’s contract included a morals clause, which he so clearly broke, so it was unlikely that NBC would have to pay him anything. Now The Hollywood Reporter says that NBC will not have to pay out on the remainder of Lauer’s $20-million-per-year deal, which would have extended to 2018. It is believed that Lauer’s lawyers will fight the network for some kind of contractual compensation, although NBC is staying firm (for now) that Lauer will not be getting any more money.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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