Matt Lauer’s circle of friends has reportedly undergone a “drastic change” since the disgraced news anchor was fired from the “Today” show six years ago.
A source close to Lauer, 65, told People that the former anchor has “iced out many old friends, even people who stuck by him after the ‘Today’ show.”
The source claimed that Lauer is living “a fairly good life” but added his new reality is “nothing at all like what it was” prior to his departure from the NBC show.
“It’s a very quiet lifestyle, but he has nothing to complain about,” the source said. “He is dating, he’s close with his kids. He still held on to the huge horse farm he shared with [ex-wife] Annette [Roque] on Long Island and they manage it together. They’ve navigated that fairly well.”
The anchor, who was fired from his prestigious job in 2017 after several women accused him of sexual harassment and rape, was spotted in the Hamptons with his girlfriend Shamin Abas going about their holiday shopping.
Lauer’s appearance with Abas, 54, dispelled rumors the pair — who began dating in 2019 after Annette Roque ended her marriage to the journalist — had split up.
Another undisclosed source told the outlet that they both try to keep their relationship private.
“Matt still gets trash talked and he doesn’t want to give people any added options for it, so he and Shamin keep a very low profile,” the source stated. “They are still seriously dating and get along well. She has her own life away from him with her international p.r. and events firm, and her horse.
“She has taken up competitive jumping and loves it. Her friends are impressed with her athletic ability,” they added.
One of Lauer’s closest friends, recently called the former news personality a “good man.”
“[He’s] doing fine,” Bryant Gumbel, 74, told Page Six in June. “He’s doing great.”
Earlier this year, several friends of Lauer said he was thinking about making a comeback.
“He thinks that he should be able to have a comeback,” one source said to Page Six.
Another source claimed Lauer has been “humbled” by the experience.
“He’s 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,” an insider said. “He knows he made mistakes, and he is a lot more humble.”
According to the insider, Lauer is very aware the road to redemption is tricky.
“He understands that there might not be any sort of appetite for [a comeback],” they said. “In other words, he wants to see if there would be any chance — but he understands fully that there might be zero chance. He’s not unrealistic.”
