Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night
Al Roker looked dapper while accompanied by fellow journalist wife Deborah Roberts.
The 68-year-old veteran television presenter and his 62-year-old partner were on the red carpet of the opening night of Terence Blanchard’s Champion at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday night.
Al looked smart in a blue plaid blazer over a crisp white shirt, tie, slacks and blue velvet loafers.
His wife looked stunning in a strapless white floral midi dress and pink floral heels.
Deborah’s dark brown locks were pulled back as she showed off her natural look with additional makeup and glossy red lips.
Sweet: Al Roker looked proper while joined by fellow journalist wife Deborah Roberts on the red carpet of the opening night of Terence Blanchard’s Champion at the Metropolitan Opera on Monday night
She accessorized with a shimmery multicolored clutch and dangling earrings.
Champion was written by Grammy Award-winning Blanchard as it is based on the late bisexual Hall of Fame Boxer Emile Griffith. He so tragically defeated Benny ‘Kid’ Paret in the ring in 1962 that Pasret died days later.
A number of other prominent personalities were on hand for the big event in the Big Apple, including Spike Lee, Angela Bassett and husband Courtney B. Vance, Queen Latifah and Phylicia Rashad.
Last week, longtime television personality Roker looked like a completely different person in a snippet of flashback footage broadcast by his old home, the Today show.
The old clip was from before Al, 68, underwent gastric bypass in 2002 and quickly lost more than 100 pounds afterward.
In the throwback video shared by the Show todayNot only did Al carry all the preoperative weight, but he also had hair.
Today, Al’s footage aired as part of a montage that looks back at the program’s seven decades, featuring instantly recognizable faces like Katie Couric, the late Barbara Walters and the disgraced Matt Lauer.
Last year, Al revealed in an Instagram post marking the 20th anniversary of the surgery that he weighed 340 pounds before going under the knife.
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 2 Handsome: The 68-year-old veteran television presenter and his 62-year-old partner looked smart in a blue plaid blazer over a crisp white shirt, tie, slacks and blue velvet loafers](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183336_546_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Handsome: The 68-year-old veteran television presenter and his 62-year-old partner looked smart in a blue plaid blazer over a crisp white shirt, tie, slacks and blue velvet loafers
Al has been the beloved weatherman on the Today show since 1996, when he rose to fame for his megawatt charm and formidable size.
Before starting his weight loss journey, he could eat six Krispy Kreme donuts at a time and tended to eat two Quarter Pounders for one meal.
He finally underwent his gastric bypass in March 2002 and saw immediate results, telling People the pounds began to ‘drop like water’.
Eight months later, he had lost so much weight that his wife Deborah Roberts confessed that she “walked by the TV once and didn’t recognize my own husband.”
Al shared, “Someone said to me at the gym, ‘Hey, you don’t want to lose too much weight, because that’s who you are – you’re the funny, fat weatherman!'”
He argued, “No, that’s not who I am. I think I’m funny. I know I’m fat. But I don’t think I’m funny because I’m fat. Those two are mutually exclusive.’
At the time, in the immediate aftermath of the bypass, his weight-maintenance strategy was to eat smaller portions of the same foods he loved.
In the intervening two decades, however, he has experimented with other methods, including in recent years the fashionable keto diet.
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 4 Amazing: Al Roker weighed over 300 pounds in 1999 during the early days of his fame before getting a gastric bypass](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Al-Roker-looks-TOTALLY-different-in-flashback-footage-from-before.jpg)
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 6 Slim and trim: Al is pictured (right) arriving on the Today show last month](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1680721646_604_Al-Roker-looks-TOTALLY-different-in-flashback-footage-from-before.jpg)
Amazing: Al Roker weighed over 300 pounds in 1999 (left) during the early days of his fame before getting a gastric bypass; he is pictured (right) arriving on the Today show last month
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 8 Wow: Al looked like a completely different person in a snatch of flashback footage broadcast from his old home, the Today show](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1680721649_808_Al-Roker-looks-TOTALLY-different-in-flashback-footage-from-before.jpg)
Wow: Al looked like a completely different person in a snatch of flashback footage broadcast from his old home, the Today show
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 10 Throwback: Al has been the beloved weatherman on the Today show since 1996, when he rose to fame for his megawatt charm and formidable size; pictured 2001](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183379_941_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Throwback: Al has been the beloved weatherman on the Today show since 1996, when he rose to fame for his megawatt charm and formidable size; pictured 2001
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 12 Foodie: Al is photographed in New York City's Stage Deli in 2001 attending a ceremony to introduce their new sandwich named after him](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183391_434_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Foodie: Al is photographed in New York City’s Stage Deli in 2001 attending a ceremony to introduce their new sandwich named after him
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 14 Go for it: Before starting his weight loss journey, he could eat six Krispy Kreme donuts at a time and tended to eat two Quarter Pounders for one meal](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183405_636_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Go for it: Before starting his weight loss journey, he could eat six Krispy Kreme donuts at a time and tended to eat two Quarter Pounders for one meal
He told me last year Today that with exercise plus ‘a low carbohydrate diet’ I have lost about 45 kilos in the last few months. I do about 100 grams of carbohydrates a day and I walk.’
He celebrated the 20th anniversary of his gastric bypass by posing a photo of himself wearing the cavernous jeans he wore to the hospital.
Al scrambled back into the pants for the camera to visually show how many inches he had since taken off his waist.
“Hard to believe it was 20 years ago today, I wore these jeans to my #gastricbypass at 340 lbs and here I am today,” he wrote proudly. “It’s still a struggle, but I’m never going back. I may have setbacks, but I work on it every day.’
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 16 Triumph: He finally had his gastric bypass in March 2002 and saw immediate results, telling people that the pounds](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183418_393_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Triumph: He finally had his gastric bypass in March 2002 and saw immediate results, telling people that the pounds “began to drop like water”; pictured last month
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 18 'Here I am today': He celebrated the 20th anniversary of his gastric bypass by posing a photo of himself wearing the cavernous jeans he wore to the hospital](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183434_924_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
‘Here I am today’: He celebrated the 20th anniversary of his gastric bypass by posing a photo of himself wearing the cavernous jeans he wore to the hospital
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 20 Stylish: Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee wore a purple top and gray pants to the event](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183451_721_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Stylish: Oscar-winning filmmaker Spike Lee wore a purple top and gray pants to the event
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 22 Elegant: The Cosby Show alum Phylicia Rashad wore a black dress for the procedure](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183476_331_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Elegant: The Cosby Show alum Phylicia Rashad wore a black dress for the procedure
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 24 Starry Night: Queen Latifah donned an all-black ensemble of a jacket and trousers with a designer purse to the opera house](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183495_191_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Starry Night: Queen Latifah donned an all-black ensemble of a jacket and trousers with a designer purse to the opera house
![Al Roker, 68, looks dapper as he is joined by wife Deborah Roberts at Champion opera opening night 26 Glamorous: Hollywood couple Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett posed at the bottom of the stairs during the entrances](https://nybreaking.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/1681183512_40_Al-Roker-68-looks-dapper-as-he-is-joined-by.jpg)
Glamorous: Hollywood couple Courtney B. Vance and Angela Bassett posed at the bottom of the stairs during the entrances