MATT’S BACK TO WORK!

Nearly eight months after he was fired by NBC, disgraced Today host Matt Lauer makes a shocking move

Matt Lauer has been in hiding. In the wake of his November firing at NBC for sexual misconduct, the $25-milliona-year Today anchor retreated to his $36.5 million Hamptons home and holed up with his long-suffering wife and their three kids. “Repairing the damage will take a lot of time and soul-searching, and I’m committed to beginning that effort,” Matt said in a statement at the time. “It is my full-time job.”

Now he’s ready for his comeback. “Matt’s been working behind the scenes, having meetings with potential employers and former colleagues and sending out feelers to executives and network bosses,” an insider tells In Touch exclusively. “He’s pitching some very radical ideas, and people are sitting up and listening.” Matt, 60, has been “bored out of his mind” in the Hamptons, where wife Annette Roque, 52, “wants nothing to do with him,” adds a source. “He’s desperate to get back in the game.”

To that end, lately he’s been going to Manhattan a lot more frequently for meetings. In June, he was spotted dining at NYC’S posh East Pole with one of his former Today senior producers. Days later, he wore sunglasses and a baseball cap pulled low as he emerged from a cab just a block away from NBC’S offices at Rockefeller Center. “It’s possible,” says the source, “he’s even trying to return to Today.”

STARTING OVER

That’s highly unlikely — and Matt knows it. “He’s willing to start small: host a show on one of the smaller cable channels like FX or USA or on one of the streaming services or even a Youtube channel,” explains the insider, who says Matt’s turned to his old broadcaster friend Bryant Gumbel for advice. “He is still my pal. I love him!” Bryant told In Touch shortly after the scandal broke, adding that it is “not for me to judge” whether NBC made the right decision in letting Matt go.

Matt is banking on that kind of support to balance out the critics and help him find new footing in the industry. “Of course there are concerns about backlash, but Matt’s optimistic. Not everyone is against him,” says the source. “Yes, he made glaringly poor personal choices and abused his power, but he’s still viewed by some as a respected newscaster. He’s not getting as many doors slammed in his face as you would think. All it takes is one person in charge to give him a second chance.”

ASKING FOR MERCY

He knows he’ll have to talk candidly about what he did and apologize again. “That’s coming,” says the insider. “It’s all part of the big plan to get back in front of a camera.” If he’s successful, he’ll be the fi rst out of the dozens of famous, powerful men who torpedoed their careers with bad behavior as the #Metoo movement gained strength. “Matt wants forgiveness,” adds the insider. “He says he really has changed and that he wants to help women. He thinks the public is ready to listen to what he has to say.” ◼