Matt Lauer Forced To 'Drastically Curb His Spending' After Getting Axed From 'Today' Show, Insider Reveals: He's 'More Low-Key These Days'
Feb. 13 2023, Published 4:29 p.m. ET
Ever since Matt Lauer got axed from the Today show for sexually harassing an employee, the disgraced news anchor had to change his lifestyle for good.
Lauer, who was reportedly paid $25 million per year, "was used to living it up," an insider shared. “But he has been forced to drastically curb his spending. The days of throwing money away on private jets and expensive bottles of champagne for the whole restaurant are over. Matt is much more low-key these days — because he has to be.”
Additionally, the 65-year-old's divorce from Annette Roque wasn't cheap, as she "took him to the cleaners," the source dished.
The TV personality denied he ever raped the staffer, but he did admit he wasn't faithful to Roque, 56, during their 20-year marriage.
The former flames, who share kids Jack, 21, Romy, 19, and Thijs, 16, “keep out of each other’s way now,” an insider spilled. “They don’t really talk. If they happen to run into each other randomly, they’re civil. Still, Annette has no time for Matt.”
However, he's moved on with Shamin Abas, and it seems like their relationship is thriving. “Things are going well,” the source shared. “She’s a really sweet girl."
"They had a good solid foundation as friends and in business when they started dating, and the romance has grown over the years," another insider revealed of the pair, who started dating in 2019. "They are happy and both busy in their own lives, as well as together. They have many of the same interests."
- Matt Lauer Has 'Iced Out Many Old Friends' Including Former 'Today' Show Colleagues 6 Years After Firing
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"[They're] not interested in a high-profile life. They are off the radar and low-key," the source told People. "They are enjoying their lives."
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Even though he's in a new relationship, Lauer is "still pretty upset about how he was ousted at NBC and upset at all the people he thought were his friends who turned their backs on him," another source said. "He knows he made mistakes, and he is a lot more humble."
Life & Style spoke with an insider about Lauer's romance.