Longtime broadcast journalist Robin Roberts thanked her girlfriend of 10 years, Amber Laign, in a public Facebook message Dec. 29. The date marked one year since Roberts' 100 days after surviving a bone marrow transplant.
"I am grateful for my entire family, my long time girlfriend, Amber, and friends as we prepare to celebrate a glorious new year together," she wrote, also thanking God, her doctors, nurses, and her sister Sally-Ann ( who was her donor ).
Roberts, 53, has had a lengthy career in broadcast journalism, including as a groundbreaking sportscaster, and most recently at Good morning America on ABC. She was the anchor who sat down with President Barack Obama for his 2012 announcement that he supported marriage equality, the first sitting president to do so.
Roberts was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2007. In 2012, she was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome. After her bone marrow transplant, she returned to Good Morning America on Feb. 20, 2013.
Roberts' sexual orientation has long been known to those in her inner circle, but the Dec. 29, 2013 Facebook post was the first time she came out in public with the news.
See her post here: www.facebook.com/photo.php .
See essay on Roberts' coming out here: www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/The-Coming-Out-of-Robin-Roberts-Why-It-Matters/45700.html .