Matt Lauer’s ex-wife Annette Roque addressed the rape allegation against the former Today show host in a statement from her lawyer.
“In response to your inquiry, our client has asked us to tell you that now that the parties are officially divorced, her priority and only concern is for their wonderful children,” her lawyer John M. Teitler told People on Wednesday, October 9. “Our client will make no further statements.”
The exes split in November 2017 after Lauer, 61, was accused of sexual misconduct and fired by NBC. Roque, 52, filed for divorce in July, and the proceedings were finalized in September. The former couple share son Jack, 18, daughter Romy, 16, and son Thijs, 12.
Former NBC employee Brooke Nevils claimed in Ronan Farrow’s new book, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, that Lauer raped her at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. “It was nonconsensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent,” she said. “It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex.”
The former journalist fired back at Nevils’ allegations in a lengthy statement on Wednesday. Lauer categorized the incident as an “extramarital, but consensual, sexual encounter,” and claimed that her assertion that it was assault is “categorically false.”
“It began when she came to my hotel room very late one night in Sochi, Russia,” he wrote in a letter published by Variety. “We engaged in a variety of sexual acts. We performed oral sex on each other, we had vaginal sex, and we had anal sex. Each act was mutual and completely consensual.”
Lauer continued: “The story Brooke tells is filled with false details intended only to create the impression this was an abusive encounter. Nothing could be further from the truth.”
He went on to accuse Nevils of “making outrageous and false” claims for her own financial gain.
However, Lauer’s onetime Today colleague Ann Curry spoke out on Wednesday in defense of Meredith Vieira’s former assistant. “Brooke Nevils is a credible young woman of good character. She came to NBC News an eager and guileless 20-something, brimming with talent,” the 62-year-old reporter tweeted. “I believe she is telling the truth. And that breaks my heart.”
If you or anyone you know has been sexually assaulted, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). A trained staff member will provide confidential, judgment-free support as well as local resources to assist in healing, recovering and more.
