Matt’s TELLING ALL!

Inside Matt Lauer’s bold plan to return to TV and share his story in a no-holdsbarred interview

The last nine months have been a time of reckoning for Matt Lauer. After NBC execs fired the Today anchor from his $25 million-a-year job in November for “inappropriate sexual behavior” and his long-suffering wife demanded a divorce, he made a hasty retreat from the public eye. “He was absolutely miserable,” says an insider. But now, after months of lying low in New York’s Hamptons, “Matt’s coming out of his shell of self-pity. He feels like he can get his life back.”

To that end, he’s ready to confess his sins. “Matt’s goal is to get back on TV, and he feels that telling his story will pave the way,” explains the insider, who says Matt, 60, is prepared to talk about everything his old viewers want to know, from his affairs, sexual misconduct and firing to his troubled marriage to former model Annette Roque, 52, and his plans to make amends. “Matt’s ready to make a big deal for a tell-all. He feels a confession to a friend like Katie Couric or Savannah Guthrie, or even an iconic interviewer like Oprah Winfrey, would help win people back over to his side, or at least make them sympathetic.”

He understands he needs to be completely forthcoming. “It will set the bar for men owning up to sexual harassment,” says the insider. “Matt will open up about the specifics of his behavior over the years at NBC and his womanizing. He wants to say how deeply sorry he is. But he also still believes he shouldn’t have been fired.” A source close to the former anchor insists Matt genuinely wants to inspire other men to do better in the #Metoo era. “He wants to change the dialogue about how women are treated. He wants to be that example.”

Matt will also open up about his family. “Ultimately, the interview

will be a grand mea culpa to all those he has wronged, especially Annette,” says the insider. Sources confirm the former couple are close to a divorce settlement after nearly 20 years of marriage. (Matt reportedly will fork over $20 million.) Back in September 2006, Annette filed for divorce and alleged in court documents that Matt subjected her to “cruel and inhumane” treatment before abruptly withdrawing her petition. “Matt will cover those accusations,” says the insider. “He’ll also admit that they lived separate lives and the dysfunction is mostly his fault, but he will make a strong claim that he loves her and their kids [Jack, 17, Romy, 14, and Thijs, 11]. He still wants her in his life.”

COMEBACK PLANS Months ago, Matt thought his career was over. “He felt like he’d lost everything,” says the insider. Now, he’s convinced he can return to work. “He’s been meeting with executives at the major networks, cable channels and streaming services,” says a source, adding that some “have expressed interest. He’s hustling to get a job — it’s been a very humbling experience. Matt knows he has to prove that he’s a changed man, or else no one will give him a second chance.” ◼