Staying Fit
Amber Laign and Robin Roberts on the set of "Good Morning America" in August.
Raymond Hall
Good Morning America anchor Robin Roberts, 62, says her unique caregiving journey with her now wife Amber Laign strengthened their relationship.
“It can either tear you apart or bring you closer together, and thank the good Lord, it brought us closer together,” Roberts said in a recent GMA appearance.
AARP Membership— $12 for your first year when you sign up for Automatic Renewal
Get instant access to members-only products and hundreds of discounts, a free second membership, and a subscription to AARP the Magazine.
They celebrated that strength on Sept. 8 when they got married after 18 years together. Roberts and Laign, a women’s health entrepreneur, posted photos on social media of their “intimate, magical wedding ceremony” in the backyard of their home in Farmington, Connecticut.
“We are partners. We will do whatever it takes, and I think that the illnesses that we have gone through, and are going through, have only strengthened us and made us more compassionate with each other and have a better understanding of each other,” Roberts said.
Roberts and Laign take turns caregiving
Not even two years into dating in 2007, Roberts found out she had breast cancer after discovering a lump in her breast during a self-exam. After skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in women in the United States, according to the Mayo Clinic. “She could have bailed early on in the relationship,” Roberts said. “No one would have blamed her.”
Instead, however, Laign planted roots. She cared for Roberts as she recovered from her treatments and laid the groundwork for a lifetime of support.
Later down the road, their relationship would be tested again when Roberts underwent a lifesaving bone marrow transplant for myelodysplastic syndrome in 2012. She spent nearly six months off the air at GMA.
“Sometimes treatment for cancer can lead to other serious medical issues and that’s what I’m facing right now,” Roberts shared in 2012.
According to the Mayo Clinic, myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of disorders triggered by poorly formed or malfunctioning blood cells. People who get a bone marrow transplant for myelodysplastic syndromes typically receive high-dose chemotherapy to clear out the blood cells from their bone marrow before they are replaced with healthy cells.
More From AARP
3 Strategies for Caregivers Facing Medical Uncertainty
Work to ease the anguish with these tactics
Years After My Husband’s Injury in Iraq, I Still Have Caregiver PTSD
Traumatic events can have a long-term impact on a person’s ‘physical, emotional, social or spiritual well-being’
8 Body Parts to Examine in Your Bathroom Mirror
You can learn a lot about your health from a close inspection in the mirror