Today's Al Roker welcomes first grandchild and vows to be 'best grandpa ever'

04 July 2023 , 18:20

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Today Show co-host, Al Roker, has become a grandfather for the first time after his eldest daughter Courtney gave birth on Monday.

The Today show co-hosts have shared some exciting personal news with their fans on Tuesday - Al Roker is officially a grandfather.

Craig Melvin revealed the brilliant news on the broadcast this morning, revealing that "our own Al Roker has become a grandfather".

Craig went on to say: "His daughter Courtney and her husband Wes welcomed a baby girl yesterday."

Courtney Roker Laga, Al's daughter, and her husband welcomed their daughter, Sky Clara Laga, on July 3, and the longtime meteorologist confirmed his family is doing well.

Courtney is Al's oldest child. Al and his wife at the time, Alice Bell, adopted her in 1987. After their divorce, he later married fellow journalist Deborah Roberts in 1995. Together, the two have a daughter and a son, Leila and Nicholas born in 1998 and 2002 respectively.

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Al Roker's daughter Courtney and son-in-law Wes welcomed a baby girl on Monday named Sky (ouichefroker/Instagram)

The Today show co-hosts raved about how great Al will be as a grandfather. "He was so excited for this," said Dylan Dreyer, "I mean, you could just see the excitement when he talked about it."

The hosts then played a clip from when it was first announced that Courtney was pregnant back in March. "For this grandchild, I'm going to be the best grandpa ever because I'm going to do whatever I can to spoil them," Al said in the clip.

Sheinelle Jones jumped in to inform viewers that when asked what he wanted to be called as a grandfather, Al chose the name Pop-Pop. "Congratulations Uncle Pop-Pop," she added.

Al Roker is excited to become a grandfather and says his family is doing well after the birth (ouichefroker/Instagram)

When Courtney announced she was expecting in March of this year on Instagram, Al wrote in the comments of her post "Here we go!!! So very very happy."

Al has been a full time weather reporter for the Today show since 1996 and has become a staple in American daytime television. He's known for his viral videos where he reports in harsh weather conditions with raging winds and rain. Besides reporting on the weather, he's known for covering the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade for NBC.

His own father, Al Roker Sr, died in 2001 from lung cancer. When Al posted an emotional tribute to his father, he wrote "as I approach grandfatherhood I miss him even more."

Al will be back next week after taking time off to spend time with his growing family.

"Sky's first forecast, she'll be doing it Monday," Peter Alexander joked.

Tatiana Krisztina