Al Roker , dad to three grown children, became emotional when he was asked forparenting advice.- He said that the most important work a parent can do is to help their children become who they're meant to be.
- Roker was speaking with NBC correspondent Gadi Schwartz, who is expecting his first child in June.
Al Roker, the "Today" show weatherman who is a household name across the country, became teary-eyed on screen recently when asked for his parenting advice.
Roker was speaking with NBC correspondent Gadi Schwartz, who is expecting his first child with wife Kimi Tobin in June. Schwartz had asked Roker for his parenting advice, and Roker immediately choked up.
"I will tell you both that it's the greatest thing that ever happened to you," Roker said, "and you will know that your heart beats outside your body in someone else."
Roker is father to Courtney, 33, Leila, 22, and Nick, 18. He told Schwartz and Tobin, who both work in television that the most important thing in their lives will now be supporting their daughter as she grows.
"And no matter what happens, these are always your children," Roker said. "It doesn't matter what you do - whatever your job is - your job is just making sure that each of these children, whoever they are, can be whoever they want to be."
Tobin and Schwartz announced their pregnancy to People in March, sharing the unique way that they found out they would be parents.
"After deciding to try and start a family, one morning I woke up after having the craziest dream and told Gadi, 'I just had a dream that I was pregnant and it's a girl and I heard my daughter's voice telling me to get up and take a pregnancy test,' " Tobin said. "Gadi was still half asleep and seemed confused, so I got out of bed, took the test and said, 'You better come see this - I think we're having a baby!'"
Later, they got confirmation they were having a girl.
In December, Roker's family got together for the first time since the pandemic began. His daughter Leila had been studying abroad in France when the lockdown started, so she hadn't seen her parents in person in a long time.
Roker's wife, Deborah Roberts, hosts an Instagram series with Leila called "Call Your Mother." They surprised viewers by showing that Leila had come home for the holidays.
Earlier in 2020, Leila shared her motivation for starting the series with her mom at a time when they were forced to be apart.
For us, I haven't seen (my parents) in person in almost a year now, so that was really hard. We looked at that as a point to at least make sure we check in twice a month," Leila said, according to "Today."