HIS WIFE TELLS ALL!
Sweet revenge? Matt Lauer’s soon-to-be ex-wife, Annette Roque, is ready to tell the ugly truth about their marriage
For the almost 21 years Matt Lauer has been married to Annette Roque, she’s largely remained a mystery to the public. The Dutchborn model, who met the former Today show anchor on a blind date in 1998, “is very private,” says a source who knows the family, noting that Annette always preferred to live outside of the spotlight while raising their three children, Jack, 18, Romy, 15, and Thijs, 12. And she rarely gives interviews. One of the only times she spoke to the press was back in 2006 when she defended her husband against cheating allegations, saying, “I want to stand up for our family.”
Now she’s standing up for herself. A source tells In Touch the 53-yearold — who officially filed for divorce on July 9 — has been approached
about writing a juicy memoir about her marriage to Matt, 61, the hell he put her through and how she coped after he was fired from Today in 2017 when several women accused the veteran journalist of sexual harassment and assault. “She’s been asked to write a tell-all, and I think she’s going to do it,” says the source.
DIRTY DETAILS Publishing insiders say she could fetch as much as $10 million for dishing all the dirt about Matt’s cheating scandal, including the secret door lock under his desk at his 30 Rockefeller Plaza office, the sex toy he reportedly gave a colleague and how much she’s getting in the divorce settlement. “Matt knows she’s been approached and is terrified that she will do it,” says the source. “He’s already lost everything: his job, his marriage, his money — but this will just add to the devastation and humiliation!”
Matt is right to be worried. The source suspects Annette will go deep when it comes to revealing the skeletons in his closet. “Matt’s put her through 20 years of cheating, lies and abuse, and it ended the moment she filed,” says the source. One of the topics she intends to cover: her first divorce filing in 2006. While pregnant with Thijs, Annette stated in court documents that her husband exhibited “cruel and inhuman” behavior and had bouts of “extreme anger and hostility.” And though she withdrew the paperwork within weeks, her choice of words back then were telling. “She claimed his treatment resulted in ‘extreme mental and emotional distress, humiliation, torment and
anxiety,’ ” says the source. “Imagine how she feels now?”
A tell-all would be sweet revenge. “Imagine if she’s seen secret texts from staffers and mistresses, or if she ever found secret burner phones,” says the source. “She’ll also get to set the record straight on whether the rumors that he paid her millions to call off the divorce the first time are true.”
After two decades of silence, “it’s safe to say Annette is done playing nice,” says the source. “And another one of Matt’s worst nightmares might come true: It could get made into a movie!” Not that Annette cares how her ex feels. “This marriage is clearly ending on her terms, and she will get the last word.” ◼