Update, February 24, 2022, 10:40 a.m. ET:
Early on Thursday morning, Robin Roberts revealed on Twitter that her longtime girlfriend, Amber Laigh, is battling breast cancer. In a two-minute video on Twitter, the GMA coanchor shared the news on behalf of her partner, details when they found out and what steps are being taken. The broadcast journalist addressed that she will not be on GMA every day to greet viewers because she will be taking care of Amber. Robin experienced her own battle with cancer in 2007 and she has been in remission since 2012.
"My sweet Amber wanted me to tell you something that she been facing," Robin said. "At the end of last year, Amber was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had surgery last month and this morning will begin chemotherapy. Thankfully, the prognosis is good and we're so grateful to our family and our close friends who have known this and have kept it private until Amber was ready to share it with others."
Robin continued: "She and I have been together almost 17 years and have helped each other through our challenges like my journey with cancer. It's my turn now to be there for her as she was for me. That means that I'll be away from GMA from time to time like this morning as she starts chemo."
"We know many, many are facing cancer and other challenges. Like my momma said, 'Every body's got something.' Please know that you are in our prayers and hopefully we're in yours too," she concluded.
Original, February 24, 2022, 8:30 a.m. ET:
Robin Roberts is celebrating life and passing her hope on to others.
On February 21, the Good Morning America coanchor took to Instagram to remember her return to the news desk after her bone marrow transplant. As ABC viewers may know, the award-winning broadcast journalist was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007 and she shared her journey on TV.
Unfortunately, years after going through chemo and being in remission, she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in 2012. According to The American Cancer Society, MDS is when "some of the cells in the bone marrow are abnormal (dysplastic) and have problems making new blood cells." However, even though Robin experienced this rare condition, she remained hopeful. Most recently, the 61-year-old ABC star observed a moment she was looking forward to after having her lifesaving bone marrow transplant — her return to GMA in 2013.
"Totally forgot until this popped up on my feed," she captioned a photo of herself with former coanchors George Stephanopoulos, Josh Elliott, Lara Spencer and Sam Champion. "[Nine] years ago today I was blessed to return to @goodmorningamerica after my bone marrow transplant. Vividly remember what I said: 'I’ve been waiting 174 days to say Good Morning America!' Reminder to all that this too shall pass. 🙏🏾❤️."
Friends of Robin and GMA fans quickly went to the comments to celebrate Robin and her recovery. Fellow journalist Deborah Roberts wrote: "So proud of your strength and resilience. 🙏🏽🙏🏽." Former costar Sam commented: "This is the first thing I saw this morning.. and I was pretty much overwhelmed. The emotions and feelings all came rushing back. The fear of your diagnosis, the difficulty of your recovery, the bond of friendship we all shared!"
Fans of Robin also celebrated her accomplishment of being cancer-free and beating cancer twice. One fan wrote, "As a fellow MDS survivor, CONGRATULATIONS!!" Another commented: " ❤️❤️❤️👏👏👏 love this. Such a wonderful moment."
During an appearance on the Rachel Ray Show last year, Robin explained that she was given only a year or two to live if her transplant was unsuccessful. Thankfully, she was able to have a second chance at life when her sister was a match and to this day, Robin hasn't forgotten about it. What an inspiration!
Katherine Tinsley is a pop culture and beauty-obsessed journalist who has worked with Live the Process, The Knockturnal and Dreamlette covering all things beauty, culture and lifestyle. Her work has allowed her to merge all of these interests into her writing and interview style.
