GMA’s Robin Roberts explains why she was ‘afraid’ to come out as gay publicly

The ‘Good Morning America’ co-host married her longtime partner, Amber Laign, last September

Robin Roberts has reflected on coming out publicly in late 2013, admitting that she had been “afraid” to do so in part because of her Christian faith.

The longtime Good Morning America co-anchor, 63, who married her partner Amber Laign, 48, last September, recently opened up about her decision to tell audiences she was gay.

On a new episode of bestselling author Jamie Kern Lima’s The Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast, Roberts explained that she had been fearful of the ramifications coming out would have on the network.

“It’s not the ‘Robin Roberts Show,’ it’s Good Morning America,” she said. “And there are so many people whose livelihoods depend on the success of our show. And so, if I do something that hurts the show, that hurts them.”

She added that she was worried people would have a hard time accepting her intersecting identities as both “gay and a Christian.”

“I would walk down the street with Amber, and if somebody saw us, I would introduce her. I wasn’t trying to hide but yet, I wasn’t ready to, to fully... And part of it is, and I’ve never said this before, part of it is because of my Christianity,” Roberts said.

“I was afraid that people, they think you can’t be gay and a Christian. And I am. I am and I was so fearful that I would be shunned,” she continued.

Robin Roberts married her longtime partner, Amber Laign, in September 2023 (Getty Images for GLAAD)

Roberts shared that shortly after announcing her relationship with Amber, she received a “beautiful letter from the National Office at the Presbyterian Church” that was “fully supportive.”

“Then I think about all those years I wasted, worried, needless worry,” she said. “You know everything about me. And I have nothing to hide and to still be, still be embraced. I am blessed and highly favored. And I’m so grateful.”

Roberts and Laign, who tied the knot in an “intimate” wedding ceremony at the TV anchor’s own Connecticut home, last fall, shared photos from the celebration on Instagram at the time.

“An intimate, magical wedding ceremony in our backyard followed by a joyous reception… ohhhh the dancing!!” she captioned the post, alongside two photos of the pair hand-in-hand wearing white wedding dresses.

The Good Morning America broadcaster has been with the show since 2005. Before that, she worked for ABC’s subsidiary ESPN as a sports anchor for 15 years. She was the first African American journalist to join the sports network.

During her time with ESPN, Roberts contributed coverage for NFL PrimeTime. She was also the host of SportsCenter.