Nicole Moschella
Matt Lauer and his wife Annette Roque reportedly had big problems in their 19 year marriage even before sexual misconduct allegations came out against him last week.
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“By Matt’s own admission there were struggles and challenges with his wife,” a friend told PEOPLE. “Like many couples, they struggled with a modern marriage.”
Lauer faced many rumors of being unfaithful through the years. One former colleague said that he always had a wandering eye, even after his wedding to Roque in 1998.
RELATED: Matt Lauer’s ex-wife speaks out about the sexual misconduct allegations against him
“He was a player when she met him and she knew that,” the source said. “Even many years ago, he was a flirt, a philanderer. He did his thing.”
Since the news of Lauer’s dismissal, Roque has been spotted without her wedding band.
“She is not going to stay with him and work it out. They are not together trying to work it out,” her father told the Daily Mail. “I have no words for her husband. What he has done is bad. Everybody feels betrayed.”
Roque also filed previously filed from divorce from the disgraced news anchor. In 2006, she filed for divorce and in court documents obtained by the National Enquirer, she claimed he demonstrated “extreme anger and hostility” and behavior in a “cruel and inhumane” manner toward her. The case was reportedly dropped due to a rumored $5 million payout.
The two have been living separately since 2011 and their three children, son Jack, 16, daughter Romy, 14, and son Thijs, 11, have been living with their mother in the Hampton.
Lauer was fired from NBC on Nov. 29 after a female colleague came forward with sexual misconduct allegations that reportedly happened during the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014.
