SOLVED!
UPDATED!
[Blind Gossip] Like many television shows, this one has seen cast members come and go over the years. As one female cast member transitions out, though, there is some very interesting maneuvering going on behind the scenes.
The male lead wants to pick the replacement. And his top choice is… the woman who nearly destroyed his marriage!
They had an affair a couple of years ago, and when his wife found out, she filed for divorce. Husband and wife eventually got back together, but his active lobbying for the other woman as his future costar certainly came as a surprise to us. His wife would probably be surprised as well.
His paramour is not the top choice of the producers, though, so it will be interesting to see if they give her a chance at his insistence. It will also be interesting to see if their behind-the-scenes chemistry translates into on-screen chemistry. We’re going to pour ourselves a hot cup of coffee and watch how this one plays out today.
Male Lead:
Woman Leaving:
Woman’s Possible Replacement:
SOLVED!
SOLVED!It’s The Today Show team!
Male Lead: Matt Lauer
Woman leaving: Ann Curry
Woman’s Possible Replacement: TBA
Source: Blind Gossip
Matt Lauer just re-signed for close to $30 million a year (WOW!).
Ann Curry is searching for A new job on Monster.com.
Her replacement has not yet been announced. From TMZ:
Matt Lauer Re-Signs with ‘Today’
Ann Curry on Chopping Block
Matt Lauer has signed a new, long-term deal with the “Today” show. He will become way richer than he already is, and we’re told the next move will be to send Ann Curry packing.
As TMZ first reported, Lauer got close to his $30 million a year asking price, nearly doubling his $17 million a year current salary.
It’s bad news for Ann Curry, because our sources say Lauer does not want her as his co-host, and it appears her fate is now sealed.
NBC sources say Ann’s likely replacement will be Savannah Guthrie.
Did you catch the hints? Cup of coffee, today.
Iammeme was the first to get the first two right. Congrats to everyone who did, too! Good job!
Don’t you feel special that you knew about this a week before everyone else did, just because you read Blind Gossip?
UPDATE!
Well, the cat’s out of the bag, so let’s solve the second part of this.
Male Lead: Matt Lauer
Woman leaving: Ann Curry
Woman’s Possible Replacement: Natalie Morales
Yes, Matt Lauer likely had an affair with Natalie Morales. It nearly wrecked both of their marriages. Even her husband doesn’t deny it.
And – hold on to your hats – there are now rumors flying that they may have had a love child together! According to The National Enquirer:
IS IT TRUE WHAT THEY’RE SAYING ABOUT MATT LAUER?!
The rumors that just won’t go away –MATT LAUER is caught up in an incredible shocking love child scandal!
On the heels of the “Today” host signing a fabulous $25 million-a-year contract with NBC, insiders at competing networks ignited nasty and unbelievable rumors that the 54-year-old married newsman fathered a child with his news anchor Natalie Morales.
“I heard that Matt had an extramarital affair with gorgeous Natalie, and he’s the father of one of her kids,” a rival network insider told The ENQUIRER. “Everyone’s buzzing that the boy looks just like him.”
Another industry source said: “The Matt Lauer love child scandal is the worst kept secret among the network morning shows.
“Everyone’s talking about it – even at NBC. He’s trying to get Ann Curry dumped as his co-anchor, and those loyal to her are also talking it up.
“Matt has enemies inside and outside the show’s Studio 1A, and if he’s got this giant skeleton in his closet, there are many who want to see it come out.”
These incredible rumors about Matt are swirling just as the morning show wars have heated up to a fever pitch. “Today’s” lost its lead over ABC’s “Good Morning America”, and CBS has relaunched its morning show with Gayle King as co-host, to stellar reviews.
But affable Matt is still keeping the “Today” show on top, while his enemies are busy trying to sink him with crazy stories.
The ENQUIRER discovered they have plenty of ammunition.
We revealed that Matt’s roller-coaster marriage suffered a near-fatal blow in 2006 when his wife Annette – pregnant with the couple’s third child – filed for divorce before withdrawing the legal papers a month later.
The divorce filing came while the unbelievable rumors were surfacing that Matt had gotten involved with Morales during the “Today” show’s coverage of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy.
“They got very close and became extremely fond of one another,” a source told The ENQUIRER. “They saw each other when they returned to the U.S.”
Two years later, the rumors again began flying when Morales announced she was 12 weeks pregnant by husband Joe Rhodes.
“There was unbelievable talk that Matt could be the father of her baby!” revealed another show source.
Incredibly, when we gave Rhodes the opportunity to shoot down allegations that his wife was involved with Matt, he did not deny them to The ENQUIRER.
And Annette’s fears about Matt’s roving eye are well-grounded. Sources told The ENQUIRER that the balding broadcaster carried on with Jessica Thorman, a married Florida woman, until just months before his 1998 wedding to Annette.
Jessica’s husband Zoltan Molnar accused Lauer of wrecking their marriage, stating: “He’s not the goody-goody nice guy he looks like on TV!”
Published reports claim that Lauer is anxious to replace his “Today” show co-host Ann Curry, who assumed the position after Meredith Vieira left last year.
Sources say he wants a bigger personality beside him in the all-out ratings war that’s seen his former TV partner Katie Couric recently sit in on “GMA” to boost its ratings with NBC tapping charismatic Sarah Palin to join Lauer as a guest co-host.
“The morning show competition has never been hotter and Matt is the reigning king,” said the rival network source. “Everyone wants to see him get knocked off his pedestal and that’s why these outrageous baby daddy rumors have resurfaced.”
Morales, 39, remains part of the “Today” show team, reporting the news. She recently told an interviewer that she still manages to cook dinner every night for her investment banker husband Joe and their sons – Josh, 8, and Luke, 3.
Meanwhile, Lauer just bought 40 acres to build a horse farm down the road from his and Annette’s $15 million mansion in the Hamptons.
Said the network source: “I think he’s trying to keep Annette happy after years of causing her misery.”
We’ve seen Natalie Morales’ son, and we can’t really tell if he resembles Matt. First of all, the kid has all his hair. And secondly, the kid gets along with Anne Curry just fine.
It will be interesting to see if Natalie still gets the co-host seat now that their little secret is out.
Congrats to everyone who got all three players right! IAmMeme was first!
BG Note: Yes, Matt Lauer did pick the replacement. Natalie Morales replaced Ann Curry as news anchor for Today in 2012.