Is she willing to overlook his past?
By Rebekah Kuschmider — Written on Jan 03, 2020
Matt Lauer has been keeping a low profile since he was ousted from his role as host of Today at NBC in 2017. The one-time anchor was accused of sexual assault and fired in November of 2017 with no warning to audiences or his colleagues.
However, in the years that followed, we have all learned that Lauer was notorious for infidelity and for harassing and assaulting women, particularly women at work. Despite numerous allegations against him, he continues to deny that he ever did anything worse than cheat on his wife.
With all the baggage that Lauer comes with, it seems remarkable that any woman would want to get involved with him —men who have been credibly accused of raping a co-worker aren't exactly most people's idea of a catch — but he has recently been spotted out with Shamin Abas, a PR pro with a client list that includes brands like Ferrari and private jet company Jet Aviation. The couple was spotted on vacation together in New Zealand last month.
Who is Shamin Abas? Read on for everything we know about Matt Lauer's new love interest.
1. Lauer lost his job at NBC in 2017.
Fans of the Today show woke up one morning in 2017 to learn that the host had been terminated from the network the night before after allegations of sexual misconduct. The firing was announced by co-hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kobt, who said they had learned of it right before air time.
Much later, reporter Ronan Farrow would revea in his book Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators that Lauer had assaulted an NBC reporter in Sochi while covering the Olympics. Brooke Nevils alleges that Lauer invited her up to his room, which she was willing to do since she considered him a friend and colleague. There he began making sexual advances. He asked if she liked anal sex and she said she didn't want to do that with him. She went on to described a brutal anal rape that left her injured.
She told Farrow in his book, "I bled for days... It was non-consensual in the sense that I was too drunk to consent. It was nonconsensual in that I said, multiple times, that I didn’t want to have anal sex.”
There were other allegations of misconduct as well. One NBC staffer claimed that Lauer had exposed his penis to her and got angry when she refused his advances. She told former Today host Anne Crry about the incident. “She was afraid of losing her job... I believed her,” Curry said later. “I told management they had a problem and they needed to keep an eye on him and how he deals with women.”
2. Lauer was married — but probably not faithful — for twenty years.
Matt Lauer had met Annette Roque in 1997 and they married a year later. They have three children together; their first son Jack Matthew was born in 2001, followed by daughter Romy in 2004, and son Thijs 2006.
The marriage was never perfect, however. There were always rumors that Lauer was having affairs with various other women, including rumors about him with celebrity chef Giada de Laurentiis, former Today Show colleague Natalie Morales, and Good Morning America host Lara Spencer.
His coworkers said it was generally accepted that Lauer habitually cheated on his wife. “He regularly cheated on his wife,” one source claimed in 2017. “Everyone knew. His wife lives in the Hamptons and he lives in the city.” It's also likely that Roque knew about the rumors and wasn't pleased with the philandering. She filed for divorce once in 2006 but retracted the papers later on with no explanation.
3. The sexual assault allegations were the final nail in the coffin for their marriage.
Being fired from Today was the last straw for Roque. After the 2017 firestorm of assault allegations came out she divorced Lauer for real. The proceedings were fairly private but reports suggest the couple is sharing custody of the kids and Lauer has been focused on repairing his relationships with them. Their marriage was officially terminated in September 2019.
4. Lauer seems to be moving on.
Now that the divorce is final, Lauer appears to be ready to move on with a new woman. Or maybe he's been with other women before this but was just sneaking around with them like he did when he was cheating on his wife. Either way, he was spotted on vacation in New Zealand with Shamin Abas just before the holidays.
5. Who is Shamin Abas?
Abas was born in Wales to a Persian father and British mother. She loved horses and dance as a child and young adult and briefly considered a dance career. She ultimately moved into PR to help out a friend who wanted a boost for his restaurant in the Hamptons.
Now she is a marketing professional who bills herself as "a leader in the ultra-luxury marketing arena." Her website says that she can't talk too much about her clients due to confidentiality issues, however, she highlights a few of the brands she works with and luxury is an understatement.
She has partnered with Ferarri, a private jet company called Jet Aviation, Triton Submersibles, which is a company marketing private submersible watercraft, and the launch of a new helicopter model for Bell Helicopter. The launch took place at the Monaco Yacht Show, and included demo flights from a 107-meter superyacht for potential customers.
Abas with client Daniel Boulud, owner of Café Boulud in Palm Beach.
6. Is it a romance or a partnership?
With her background in high-caliber PR, you might wonder Lauer was seeking her out to repair his image. He has been in disgrace since his firing and it got even worse after Catch and Kill was published.
“After the most recent revelations, some of the people who had stayed friendly with him since his firing have iced him out,” said one source. “They’re horrified by the allegations — and the fact that he still doesn’t think he did anything wrong.” A serious PR flack might be just what he thinks he needs to rebuild his life and reputation.
However, other sources say he really is looking for love and Abas is okay with his past. “She knows who he is,” a source says. “She’s thrilled she’s with him. She doesn’t seem to have a care in the world.”
Rebekah Kuschmider has been writing about celebrities, pop culture, entertainment, and politics since 2010. She is the creator of the blog FeminXer and she is a cohost of the weekly podcast The More Perfect Union.