If you’re wondering what a morning-show bachelorette party might look like, look no further than Wednesday’s episode of ABC’s “Good Morning America.”
Co-anchor Robin Roberts received a somewhat-safe-for-work sendoff from her fellow broadcasters Wednesday ahead of her nuptials with Amber Laign, her partner of 18 years. The Key West-themed fête included the two brides-to-be dressed in white, a beach-decorated set, a giggling George Stephanopoulos and friend and guest presenter Niecy Nash-Betts, who was driving the “Bride Tribe” into the studio with Lara Spencer.
“Giddy” co-host Michael Strahan said that the party might be his favorite day ever on the set and later “stripped” at Roberts’ behest, revealing a six-pack ab T-shirt under his suit. Chef Carla Hall mixed up mocktails on air and R&B trio En Vogue capped off the celebration with performances of their 1990s hits “Hold On” and “Free Your Mind.”
“We love that we can bring so much joy to others,” Roberts said.
The couple, who went public with their relationship in 2013, became engaged in late 2022 and plan to wed next month. They were introduced through mutual friends in 2005, around the time the former ESPN anchor moved to “GMA.” Their relationship was chronicled in a Wednesday segment that featured interviews with the couple.
Roberts and Laign had been dating for only two years when Roberts in 2007 revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer. (In 2012, she was also diagnosed with a rare blood disorder that resulted in a bone marrow transplant and an ongoing health battle through 2013.)
“[Amber] could have bailed early on in the relationship. No one would have blamed her,” Roberts said. “People ask me how did I start calling her ‘Sweet Amber,’ and it was so organic… It’s just the aura about her. She’s so kind. She’s just really, really kind, and it’s so genuine, you know? It’s not trying to be anything other than who she is.”
Roberts was moved to tears when her sister Sally-Ann Roberts presented her with an emotional gift from her late mother, who died in 2012. Sally-Ann gave her a personalized cutting board from Sophistiplate that featured their late mother’s rosemary chicken recipe.
